


I Want to Watch the Stars with You

by sip_of_formalin



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Angst, Angst and Romance, Blood and Gore, Court Healer Oikawa Tooru, Hero Complex, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kidnapping, Knight Iwaizumi Hajime, M/M, Mage Iwaizumi hajime, Mage Oikawa Tooru, Major character death - Freeform, Minor Character Death, Murder, Obsessions, Requited Love, Romance, Suicide, Unreliable Narrator, Unrequited Love, Violence, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,420
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29649948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sip_of_formalin/pseuds/sip_of_formalin
Summary: Oikawa has been the court healer at the castle for the past three years of his life. In all that time he has spent there, he has not left the premises once. However, after Warlord Ushijima Wakatoshi storms the castle and brutally slays the queen he was thought to be loyal to, Oikawa must flee the castle as a wanted fugitive or join Shiratorizawa.While running through the forest, he comes across a knight on his way home from a job. The knight agrees to escort Oikawa to his friends house up in the far north with the promise of being able to convince Oikawa to go to the outlands with him and join a rebellion bound to be brewing.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime & Oikawa Tooru, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Prologue**

It had been far too long since Oikawa had last thought about the stars. But the curtains were wide open and the stars shined through the glass panes, swallowing the entire study in its fine glow in just the right way to catch his attention.

It’s probably been a few years since he’s had a view like this, the little peaks through the curtains don’t count. It's become a habit to close the curtains when the sun sets, unfortunately he has the privilege of his bedroom window facing north, giving the sun the room to both rise and set in view.

It's anything but comfortable to be waking up to the sun blaring into his eyes, so he had invested in some thick curtains to save his eyes from that pain every morning.

But he was so engrossed in filling out this week's paperwork that it had completely slipped his mind to close them. 

Moonlight splayed across the meticulously organized desk, it shadowed over the various inks and herbs laid across it. 

It's like he was captivated by the little lights sprinkled whichever way across the sky. His eyes drew lines, connecting the dots of the stars to another. They were familiar, painfully familiar and he didn't need to think too hard about it to remember why.

The wooden legs from his chair scrapped gratingly against the floor as he pushed himself away from his desk. He got up and rounded the furniture to start towards the balcony door. His leather shoes picked up the woolen rug splayed across the floor, dragging little bumps with his as his steady pace brought him closer to the door.

As he pushed open the glass door, a current of wind ran through him, rustling his kimono and shifting his hair out of place. His gloved hands gingerly set themselves on the stone-built balcony as he stared upwards.

It kind of reminded him of a river- of course, the sky and the river weren't anything alike but still. The Tops of the grand-fir trees and the everlasting towers of the castle walls squished the view of the sky until it was similar to the width of a river. 

He heard clanking and the laughter of men residing somewhere around him. Their loud cheers filled the air but took nothing away from the sight.

Oikawa was hit with a wave of nostalgia, the type where the weight of your entire life just comes back to you and basically slaps you in the face. 

Back when he was a child, probably about 9 or 10, every single night he and his mother would look at the stars together.

Apparently, it was something her mother had done with her as well, and she thought it would be sweet to continue doing. He really appreciated her now, taking the time to do that with him. 

Together, the two of them would map out the stars and identify constellations. But more than that, his mother would tell him about the meaning of stars.

She told him that the stars were made of the memories of a person's life. After someone passes away, their memories from their life turns into the stars and their soul goes on to their next life. He had never really thought too hard about it, but now it was just- kind of interesting.

It made him think,  _ how many stars up there are mine?  _ And it's a question that will never be answered but can't help but ask. It was only natural for him to be curious anyways.

This view was familiar, he could still point out the big and little dipper out in the east, and there was mars far past it. The tinted red glow stood out from the rest of the white lights sprinkled across the midnight sky. 

It must have been when his father had started tucking him into bed instead of his mother, she had always been sick, but at that time it had gotten worse. She had to be confined to her bed for a majority of the day. But Oikawa understood, he was just happy anyone was tucking him in. 

His father wasn’t as invested in the stars, he just tucked Oikawa into bed and left. Oikawa would follow the stars in his own time, he didn't necessarily need anyone to do it with him. But, it just wasn't the same. 

It was different now too. He has been living in the castle for the past three years of his life, working as the court healer.

He would spend some of his time in the gardens, keeping the herbs healthy and ready for use. He would spend the other half of his time in his office, waiting for patients to show up at his doorstep requesting treatment. 

Most of the time, he wouldn't have to actually use his magic on them- well, the villagers that came to him. It was always the guards and knights who came to him for healing after roughhousing. They weren't even hurt while training!

It was always the same group of people too, Oikawa would have assumed they were doing it on purpose if it wasn't for the fact that they were so rude to him! Maybe he should get an apprentice just to mess with them. Who knows, it might pay off and they’ll finally learn their lesson.

An apprentice might be a good idea in general too, he would be able to send them out to the village on errands too. There was no way he was going down there himself, he hasn't even left the castle since he stepped onto the premises. 

It was just a little too dangerous for comfort to be left out there, completely defenseless and alone. He tried that for a little bit, and while it lasted him a few years it would never work in the long run. He was content with staying here, the queen was nice and made accommodations regarding his situation. This is the only possibility of stability and safety he has, and there was no way he was going to willingly risk it.

**Chapter 1**

The rain pelted Oikawa into the mud that cradled his feet as he fought through the stray branches of the evergreen trees towering overhead. Night had settled in who knows how long ago, but at this point, it feels like hours. And to be fair, it probably was.

He had left the rocky trail behind a while back in favor of using the cover provided by the trees. While he would have loved to use the well-maintained trails- walk on rocks instead of mud, he instead chose the safety of the bushes.

His steppes were stuttered by the mud, the substance sucked his shoes into the earth and held them there. His heart jumped to his throat every time his shoe was threatened by the suction of it, and he glared at his shoes every time to find a way to hold them in place.

The sky isn't visible anymore- maybe, it was kinda hard to tell the difference between the leaves and the sky in the first place. They look the exact same in the dark. A thick canvas of trees sheltered him as soon as he had sprinted into the forest. It wasn’t long after that when the pines and leaves became too dense to see through, but still not close together enough to stop the rain from hitting his face with every other step he took. It would have been too dark to see a simple leaf if he hadn’t snatched a lantern from the wall as he escaped the palace.

It lit his way as well as you would have expected a half-burnt lantern too. With every extra jostle from the terrain or hard gust of wind Oikawa's heart would jump up to his throat.

The light hasn’t gone out on him yet- but like, what else was he expecting. It’s not like the wind could go through glass, especially reinforced glass. Oikawa had once met with the enhancers that often do business with the castle- and he had learned that all glass in the castle has been re-enforced for safety reasons. 

Something wet was running down his temple, he couldn't quite tell whether it was sweat or the rain, but either option is as equally uncomfortable as the other. The wetness forced his bangs to lay slick across his forehead, and my god did he hate it. He had the constant urge to just reach up and fix it- but that would kind of be pointless since his bangs would just get messed up again anyway.

The sticker bushes snagged his wool cloak every other step he took, grabbing onto the worn fabric and ripping off small bits of it for themselves. he hasn’t been forced to actually yank the cloak out of the bushes yet, but he would most definitely prefer to never have to do that- maybe that would give time for people to catch up to him or find him. 

He couldn’t afford to slow down, even with the constant burn of his calves carrying him farther and the threats of his legs completely giving out on him.

Painful Goosebumps ran around his entire body. And his abdomen violently trembled, his breathes sat heavy in his lungs, but whenever he sucked in a breath all that came in were small wisps of air. His throat was raw and worn from the bitter crisp air. 

It was way too hot but way too cold at the same time, Oikawa couldn’t get a proper grasp over himself.

He could do nothing more than pull a soaked cloak closer around himself for any chance of giving his body any chance of warmth.

To be honest, he had no clue where he was. Every direction he looked at just led to more trees, there was no real difference between any of them.

Maybe if he had a map or just kept track of which way or how long he was running he might have noticed something that might have helped him- god, why didn’t he just do that in the first place? He wouldn’t have been having this problem now if he did. He was lost and he had no idea where he was and someone could be following him.

Someone could be watching him right now and he couldn’t even realize it. He was hopelessly lost and running in any direction that felt like it was farthest away from the castle. As far as he knew, he could have just ran in a circle. 

It's been years since Oikawa has properly worked his muscles, much less run for what must have been a while considering when he had left the castle the sun was setting.

The constant buzzing of flies and mosquitoes weren’t particularly helpful either. They rammed against his face every couple seconds, and they bit into his rosy cheeks. He had to swat them away whenever they reminded him of their presence.

Under his cloak laid various layers, but that just so happened to be damp too. Out of all the layers he had on- His haori, Kimono, hakama, and Kosode- only the hakama managed to stay a little dry. Even then, mud was bunching up at the bottom against the stiff pleats. 

His skin pruned and pulled in the grasp the air had over him. His cloak was weighed down with the mud that had caught onto it when he tripped oh-so-gracefully-and-definitely-not-flailing and ended up on the forest floor earlier that evening.

The mud slapped against his bare wrist and smeared against his white gloves. He grimaced, pulling his eyes to guide his feet around the roots that sprouted up. “so annoying.” he muttered to himself.

His shoes rubbed his feet the wrong way as he slipped once again, being taken down not really by the fall itself but by the ridiculously heavy weight of his messenger bag. 

He was smeared with dirt and his attire was more mud then actual clothes at this point. At least he had put up his hair in a bun, it would have been such a hassle to deal with it if he wore it in a ponytail that day.

"A bath would be really fucking great right about now." A bitter grumble passed through his lips. "being pampered would also be great right now."

Oikawa always loved the baths he had at the castle. He treated himself with expensive oils he bought with his pay. (not like he had anything else to spend it on, most living expenses were covered by the castle.) He had the softest skin and hair like silk. it wasn't common for people to do this, oils were usually only bought by the noble class, Lord and Ladies and those types of people. it wasn’t really bought much by the members of the court, but Oikawa couldn't help himself.

The smell of Almond milk against his skin was the thing that he craved and very well dedicated his very limited free time to. When he had first started purchasing these luxuries, people had questioned him on why he would waste his money on such a thing when he didn’t need it. His answer has always been the same, it's the little things.

There usually wasn’t much to gossip about throughout the day in the castle, all of the drama with the lords and ladies were kept private, and so everyone resorted to gossiping about the smaller things.

Oikawa was generally the subject of gossip in the castle, along with a couple people from the guard. Kyoutani Kentaro was a common name to hear about in gossip, but the poor boy looked like he hated it. However, on the other hand, Oikawa wasn't particularly bothered by it. He understood people got bored and wanted to talk about something. And he was happy to provide.

They could just talk about the new crack they saw in the wall the other day. None of the gossip was ever actually bad or scandalous, so he never denied or fought any of the gossip.

Besides, He knew he was interesting, and absolutely gorgeous too! It would only make sense that he would draw attention! If he didn’t, there would most certainly be something wrong with those peoples eyes.

Oikawa slowed down from a brisk pace, He leaned up against a tree and inspected the outside of his bag. He needed to make sure no mud made it inside. He figured he was probably fine to stay there for a couple minutes. His bag had a bunch of his supplies from back at the castle and he would prefer them to be clean, or you know- not have to replace them. 

"I want my books." Oikawa whined as he aimlessly shuffled the things in his bag, bypassing the clean envelopes of herbs in favor of searching for anything ripped, muddy, or damp.

He usually carried two bags on him, his book bag and his medical bag. It was the procedure he had set up for himself and he found having both on him to be quite useful. 

But earlier in the day, when the queen had called him to her private study for an emergency, he only had the time to grab his medical bag before booking it from the main palace to the west wing. 

Satisfied with the results of his search, Oikawa closed his messenger bag before he scurried off, his knees shook as he forced them to move again. He passed by various kinds of trees and brush without a care for the small rakes they left against his cloak.

"Gee, I always thought a few hours in the woods would do me good. But turns out I'm already going insane and talking to myself!" Oikawa ranted, throwing his arms up in the air to emphasize his point before a gust of wind forced them back down to shield himself.

Oikawa's words were lost in the passing wind, barely loud enough to have even been heard by himself. It felt like the words had never even left his head in the first place.

He felt his throat threaten to close on him. He wasn’t sure he would be able to talk again. His shoulders were in a similar state, one with tension and shudders.

There was no chance he would last in this rain. He had to get cover. He didn’t even know if he was safe- like he probably was, but they could still find him! For all he knows he ran in a circle and is right next to the palace. He highly doubts it since he can’t really see any signs of any other people nearby. Nothing but the buzzing of insects and howling of the rain.

His knees buckled as he was willing them to take another step towards a tree, just hoping to get a little more coverage as he searched for his shelter until this rain. He guesses he doesn’t particularly have a choice as to whether he keeps moving now or not. He just hopes there is a cave nearby that can hide in, sleeping like this is nowhere near ideal.

His legs felt like they were bending the wrong way, but they looked just fine. When he tried to move them straight, they went off to the side, making his knee collapse inwards. He internally groaned as he forcibly hobbled over to a tree to stabilize himself, his feet not quite cooperating with him either.

If he sat down, Oikawa doesn't think he would be able to get back up again. He  _ doubts  _ he would even be comfortable sitting on the roots of the trees or in the mud anyway. Why would he ever even consider sitting down, he doesn’t need to be a noble to have standards. 

And those standards of his are feeling particularly high today- which probably isn’t a good thing.

He scanned the area through the trees as he waved the bug out of his face. He readjusted the cloak covering him, getting as much warmth out of it as he could in the bitter night.

He couldn't see anything surrounding him, the trees too thick to make anything out. He readjusted the strap of his bag on his shoulder as he willed his legs to start moving in any direction.

His steps were short and labored, his feet stumbled over each other as he forced them to move. It was nothing compared to the brisk pace he had set before, but it was certainly better than not moving at all.

His shoes sunk back into the mud as he stumbled his way over the roots and grass. Oikawa’s gloved hand traced and studied the vines of the trees passing by.

He looked around him as he walked, hoping to come across a cave, or a cabin, or a village, or really anything-. He wouldn't even mind an old creepy shack!- well that was a lie, he would totally hate to sleep in a place like that. But it's the expression that counts.

On a perfectly normal day, he would have been dead asleep right now. Probably snoring and drooling all over his pillow comfortably dreaming about not having any more paperwork. 

The image of himself buried in the heavy covers of his blanket built itself in his mind. Seriously, he should stop wishing for his stuff back home already. He already knows that it's literally impossible for him to get it back. 

His lips quivered; the overwhelming desire and fear finally caught his heart, squeezing it up to his throat. Or perhaps it was just the cold getting to him. but he wouldn't let either, the emotion or the cold, get to him.

He pulled his lip into his mouth and tilted his head up. His eyes strained as they looked past his own nose and stayed in a straight line.

he snagged the bag over his shoulders, pulling it up to his shoulder once again as the weight of it threatened to pull it back towards the mud.

This was not an ideal situation for him. Waving off bugs, slipping, and just praying to whatever gods were out there to allow him to stumble upon any form of shelter.

This was not how he thought the day would play out at all.

Honestly? He'd thought he would have been stuck in his infirmary all day today. It was Ushijima's turn to train the new guards and he was known for not holding back on the newbies. And Oikawa hated it with a passion.

Ushijima would just send guard after guard up to his office. He was absolutely swamped with patients every time- and after he finished dealing with all of them he needed a full course meal and a long nap to get rid of the pounding headache.

He had never had a good feeling about Ushijima, no- he never liked Ushijima. Something rubbed him completely the wrong way, perhaps it was the persistent asking of Oikawa to Join his little group Shiratorizawa or whatever they were- or maybe the constant praise Ushijima received for just existing in the same room as people.

Or maybe it's cause Ushijima was just plain old creepy- probably a combination of all of them to be honest. Like seriously, Ushijima as an entity just weirded him out.

It was like he was everyone- just standing and staring. It wasn’t like an accidental glance either. Whenever Oikawa had happened to make light eye contact with Ushijima, it was like he was trying to look into Oikawa’s very being. And when he averted his gaze, Ushijima’s eyes would bore two holes into the back of his head, and they would stay there until Oikawa walked far enough to not see Ushijima. 

Even then, it was like Ushijima had contaminated him or something, it was weird. Like he could still feel it on the back of his head, even when ushijima was in another room or back in the hall the two were passing through.

Ushijima always held his lips in his mouth, like he wanted to say something. But was contemplating whether it was a good idea to speak up or not. Ushijima never said anything, so Oikawa just brushed off whatever kind of attempts of social interactions those were.

Besides, it's not like what Ushijima had been doing was illegal or anything. Creepy? Sure. Unnerving? Definitely. But it wasn’t breaking any laws. Ushijima wasn’t harassing him or anything, as far as he knew those were just poor Ushi’s attempts at trying to get Oikawa to make the first move in talking because he didn’t know what to say.

Unfortunately for Ushijima, Oikawa didn’t have any interest in becoming friends with him.

Through the thick trunks of the various species of trees, Oikawa saw the faint glow of light. Thank gods, that means shelter-

He felt like he could cry from relief, but he could do nothing more but let out a small light sob. He felt absolutely exhausted and disgusting.

Oikawa had to stop himself from running over there immediately- like he could really run anyways. He had to remember why he ran from the castle in the first place.

He didn't want to leave, he was practically forced to. It was either flee or be forced to become a part of the group that raided it.

For all, he knew they were members of that group over there. He didn't quite doubt that.

While he was traveling on foot, the group most likely had horses and other animals to travel by. They could have passed him without him knowing.

Or maybe it was bandits. Bandits had started to become much more commonplace recently, they were infesting areas of the second and first Regions of the land like a virus. 

They used to be most active in the outlands out in the Far East or in the third region- where villages were less progressive with enlightened technology and more spaced out. It had worse conditions out there- but it was kinda by choice.

Like there was nothing really stopping them from becoming more wealthy, they just irrationally believed in anti-enlightened beliefs. So really, if they just tried to accept enlightens into their towns they might be able to progress into society instead of regressing themselves. 

Just to be safe, Oikawa reached down to the side of his boot, and popped the pocket on the side open. He slipped the dagger out of its pocket and the handle of the dagger dug into the palm of his hand as he tightened his fingers around the metal.

It wasn't much and he doubted it would be of much use, but it was better than nothing.

He wasn't aiming to kill or even injure, just a distraction in case he needed to escape. Or even then, he’s sure he could play off the role of being an actual threat. Even if he doesn’t know what he’s doing with the knife, he can fake it till he makes it. If he could keep his arms from trembling.

the light, presumably from a fire, was meters away. Oikawa kept his steps quiet, careful to not possibly alert the person(s) nearby.

Best case scenario there’s nobody there and it's just a left over fire- or maybe another fugitive from the castle, a loyal knight or a court member or something. He desperately hopped it was one of those. 

But then again, he didn’t know if he could trust a fellow fugitive. They might give him up to Ushijima for selfish reasons.

He weaved through the trees, twisting and turning through the stray branches hanging down from above and the trunks of them. 

He approached the mouth of the cave from the side. There was a break in the high hanging trees to make room for the cave and the upward slope of the hill the cave was in.

He slowed his steps as he approached the entrance, slipped his feet one after another to not disturb the rocks under them. 

He peeked inside the cave and his eyes passed by heavy armor scattered on the ground. There’s dancing of the orange flames on the rock walls. His gaze passes by a large sword before coming into focus on a single person.

There was a man sat deep within the cave, eyes closed and arms crossed. Oikawa’s eyes skipped back to the armor, they usually carried some sort of crest or logo somewhere on the chest plate. Oikawa has no idea when that little trend popped into existence- he's a healer, not a blacksmith- but boy is it helpful. 

Sometimes, Bandits like to brand themselves. A way to get famous. And it's been able to get him to avoid certain areas of town or the forest back when he was living in that village not too far from the capital.

There were also mercenaries who sometimes used crests on their armor too to find work, but it hasn’t been as common. Or maybe he’s just bad at figuring out who's a mercenary, he doubts it though.

He’s really looking for three particular crests on this man's armor. The Shiratorizawa crest ( a swan), the kingdoms crest ( a castle, representing all who are loyal to the queen), and a bandits (these are a variety of things, he’s seen them as swirls, numbers, and anything else that could possibly make a crest). So basically, Oikawa is totally just going to try and book it up the hill this cave is based on to try and escape if there is a Shiratorizawa or bandits crest.

The chest plate- or armor set as a whole- was covered in various scratches and dents. There was this giant shift in color from a silver-green to old rust that really accentuates the scratch along the chest, it kept drawing his attention- though he kept trying to look for something actually important.

Oikawa saw the crest on the middle of the chest plate, below the pecs and above the abdomen. It was just barely noticeable, the chest plate was rolled off to the side enough to just barely make it invisible. But when the fire danced through the air in just the right spots, the peaks of the castle we’re definitely there.

Oikawa's eyes trailed over the man. The knight ( or possibly a guard that had escaped during the chaos, but the worn armor made that fairly unlikely) had dark tan skin that complimented his dark brown hair. Oikawa would have mistaken the hair for black if it wasn’t for the fire.

The man had the build of a knight- that was for sure. His shoulders were broad and built, and so was the rest of what he could tell through the beige tunic he had on. He was muscular, but not enough so for it to restrict his movements. It was just the right kind of a dedicated warrior required to be able to work efficiently. 

He went back to the knight's belongings strewn about on the cool rock floor. The large sword was propped next to him against the hard rock, Oikawa had no idea what type of sword it was but it was ginormous.

He’s seen a couple similar ones throughout the palace, but he’s never gotten around to asking anyone about them. A large bag was on the ground, open and belongings spilling out.

This warrior was giving him a sense of Deja vu. Oikawa didn't know why, but the face seemed familiar. He most likely saw this man passing through the castle at one point or another. Oikawa left it at that. 

Oikawa clasped the dagger in his hands. Should he keep it in his hand as he approaches this man, like he’s a knight from the castle. Or maybe he just stole the armor. Should he put it back in his boot?

He bit his lip and his eyes stared at the blade in his hand. Before he could think anymore on it a gruff voice called for his attention. "How long are you gonna be standing there for?"

Oikawa's head shot up, “What-huh-wait, what?” His dazed mind focused on the man in the cave.

The man was now staring right at Oikawa, brow furrowed and a heavy frown on his lips. "How long are you planning on staying out there for," The voice was rough and confident, with a toss of the head the man directed Oikawa to come and sit with him. "Come on, get in here unless you want to be as dead as you look."

Oikawa shoved the dagger back into his boot as he stepped into the cave. Oikawa was hyper fixated on the rain that kept pounding away on his shoulders, it seemed like a heavy burden was lifted off of his shoulders as he finally made his way to solid cover. A wave of heat engulfed him as he stepped closer and closer to the fire.

He stepped further into the cave, and as he made his way to the back where the fire was, the cracking of the wood and flicker of the fire became louder than the rain.

"Geez, How rude!," muttered Oikawa.

Oikawa strode in front of the fire, keeping his head high, and sat down on the floor across from the knight. He crossed his own legs, mirroring the man.

He pulled down his hood as his body settled in with the presence of the fire. Oikawa kept his shoulders tense- guard up in case he needed to run. He settled his hand against the bag.

“What are you doing here? or should I ask what's your name first-" Oikawa held his voice as steady as he could.

Should he tell this knight about the situation in the castle? How should he do it, should he just say it? Or should he wait to be sure this man isn't a part of Shiratorizawa? well- this man being apart of Shiratorizawa wouldn't make sense and-

"My name is Iwaizumi Hajime, I was caught up in the rain on my way back from a job." The man- now known as Iwaizumi- answered Oikawa's question. "What about you?"

This Iwaizumi didn't seem like the type to join Shiratorizawa - he didn’t have the crest anyways but you could never be too careful. Similarly, Iwaizumi held himself with pride and strength. But not in the same way Those from Shiratorizawa did. Not in an overwhelming dominating way, but in a more confident way- it was hard to quite describe. It made Oikawa comfortable like Iwaizumi was trustworthy. Shiratorizawa was always more... demanding. 

If this was a dangerous man, it wouldn’t be wise to just outright tell him who Oikawa is. 

“Before I answer that,” Oikawa paused, noting the furrowing brow on the man's face. “I noticed the Crest on your armor. Are you loyal to the queen.”

”Yeah, I’ve worked under her for the past few years now. I dedicate my work to her.” Replied Iwaizumi.

“What...” Oikawa contemplated his next question carefully.” What is your status and affiliations?”

”I am a knight working directly under the queen, no other affiliations. Now is this little interrogation of yours over? What are you doing here?”

”One more question- are you a part of Shiratorizawa?”

”Nope, Didn’t you see my crest? It’s only the Kingdoms for a reason.”

”I see...” Oikawa bit his lip.

This guy was right, if he was affiliated with Shiratorizawa, there would have been a crest. 

"My name is Oikawa Tooru, “ Announced Oikawa as he made eye contact with green orbs. “I was caught in the rain as i was running from the castle. I worked as the Court healer there." 

"Wait, you’re that court healer?” 

“I’m the only court healer. '' deadpanned Oikawa. “But, What's that supposed to mean?”

”well- there's always a bunch of rumors going around about you.”

“What kind of rumors? I don’t keep track of everything going on in the castle, I’m a busy man, you know.”

“The rumors are that you are busy- wait hold up. Did you say worked? That you were running from the castle?”

"Haahah- well, you see..." Oikawa trailed off

”Don’t tell me you’re a runaway or something.”

”I’m not! Just give me a second to explain!” Oikawa scrunched up his nose, “You are aware of Ushijima, no?”

"I suppose I know him, I'm not a big  _ fan  _ of him though." Iwaizumi huffed as he shifted on the floor, moving himself to focus more on Oikawa's words. "Why?"

"He killed the queen, as well as a majority of guards and members of the court." Oikawa grimaced as he saw Iwaizumi’s eye practically bulge out his head.

Ushijima was presumed loyal to the queen, after all, he had fought countless battles in her name. He was Declared a warlord in her name and held a large margin of power in the land. Ushijima had been in service of the queen since he was 16 years old. And He quickly rose up the ranks of the army. From a measly foot soldier to a knight and general of the army. 

Ushijima dominated the battlefield, completely overpowering any enemy force. As said from the battle rumors spread around the castle, he wasn’t quite sure if they were exaggerating or not, you could never tell with those things.

The people compared Ushijima to the mighty eagle. Something fierce, swift, and powerful. People praised the very land he walked on. His stomach clenched just thinking about it. Ushijima didn't deserve that much praise. He wasn't a god. 

"Haah-He did what?!" Iwaizumi's lip curled into a snarl. "Why didn't you start with that?!"

"I- I didn’t know if you were a part of Shiratorizawa or not-!" Oikawa was cut off by Iwaizumi getting up off the ground, "What are you doing?"

"I'm heading to the castle." Scoffed Iwaizumi, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Iwaizumi spun around the cave, gathering his armor in his arms.

"What the hell! You can't do that!" Blurted Oikawa, Launching himself off the floor and standing in a matter of seconds.

"Why can't I? You're just some  _ shut-in  _ healer, I'm a knight. You hold no authority over me." Declared Iwaizumi.

He continued to throw his armor onto his body, paying no mind to the annoyance radiating off of Oikawa.

The armor clinked together as he put it on himself. Oikawa could see Iwaizumis's face start to redden with his own frustrations all the way across from him.

Whoever said this guy could talk to  _ the  _ Oikawa Tooru like he was nothing! While it was true that Iwaizumi did have more status then Oikawa- Oikawa was still the most well known healer in the land. And not by just his own standards, he’s actually been a recognized name out in the far corners of the second region of the country.

"Were you not listening to anything i said?! It's still raining, it's too dangerous to leave the cave! It's night, who knows how many bandits and animals are out there- besides!" Oikawa insisted as he stopped to catch his breath for a mere second, before continuing on with the tangent." It's been hours since the queen was killed! Ushiwaka has probably already Secured the castle by now!"

Oikawa's words made Iwaizumi halt in place. Oikawa crossed his arms as his emotions simmered like boiling water. He knew his own snarl was very clear on his face. He purposefully raised an eyebrow at Iwaizumi's Movement.

"Tch." Iwaizumi ticked as he let go of the iron plating in his hands.

The air was suffocating within the tension as Iwaizumi threw the Armor off of his body. He stalked back over and sat down with a grunt. Once again, he sat in front of Oikawa. 

Iwaizumi's hand was fisted as he leaned his head against it, his elbow practically holding down his own knee. He averted his gaze from oikawa and down to the ground.

"Besides-" Oikawa continued. " You know nothing about me, you shouldn't listen to rumors. They aren't always true."

Oikawa sighed as he slumped against the rock wall behind him. 

The two sat in silence, making no move to do anything other than to glare at the floor rather than each other. what a shitty way to start this out, Oikawa grimaced.

Oikawa was now able to properly see Iwaizumi's face. He had a rigid face in general. A very prominent frontal bone as well as jawline. He had a flatter- but still could be considered a straight- nose.

He had jagged and spiked hair- definitely a weird shape by Oikawa's standards.

Iwaizumi also had green eyes. They contrasted Iwaizumis skin and hair just perfectly- Oh no Oikawa couldn't have that!

Why was he cursed with boring old Brown Hair and brown eyes! Sure, he knew that Brown suited him and that his eyes looked like pools of chocolate in the sun. But that's still boring!

Why couldn't they be a jaded green like this guy!

Oikawa decided he was going to make fun of Iwaizumi's appearance at some point. Like- His hair. How did he even get it like that?

It's horrible, compared to Oikawa's hair. Oikawa's hair was long and wavy. however, he held it up in a braided bun due to his work. It would be annoying to have to keep throwing his hair back over his shoulders or have it splayed out all over his desk.

He held it in place with a single, blue hair clip in the middle of the bun to keep it all held together. It had braids outlining the entire bun. The clip had been his mothers for quite some time before she gave it to him as a present.

His bangs complemented the look, swishing softly over the side of his face. He’s kept this as a signature hair style for years now. His family has always been on the more traditional side, even back about a century before when the two emperors decided to create a single nation and combine cultures. 

He’s been wearing the same type of clothes his entire life, even after he left home and moved into a nearby village with a modern type of house, he didn’t get rid of his traditional wardrobe. he hasn’t cut his hair since then either. The custom of men Having long hair had gone out a long while ago too, having short hair isn’t seen as a sign of weakness or shame anymore. 

Oikawa still appreciated the sentiment and meaning behind his long hair. It was similar to his fathers too, his father kept his hair long, and as long as he could remember his father also wore traditional clothes. They had been one of the few families in the area to keep these traditions up, they looked kind of weird compared to everyone else. But Oikawa still managed to fit in, somehow.

Oikawa tore his eyes away from Iwaizumi's slouched form and down to the burning fire. 

Oikawa forced his attention onto the cracking of the fire- something that wasn’t the man he barely knew sitting across from him.

But even then, with his eyes staring at nothing but the fire, he still looked up to Iwaizumi.

He seemed... much calmer? it's hard to tell, his face looks practically the same. Iwaizumis brows were just a bit less tight-knit. But the tension from earlier managed to dilute itself and slink away from the room.

At least Oikawa thought so, it was hard to tell with the look on Iwaizumi's mouth reading as annoyed but Iwaizumi's eyes reading as calm.

To be honest- Oikawa had no idea what to think of Iwaizumi. His attitude, looks, mood- everything just threw him off. 

Like- This guy knew Oikawa was looking in on him and calls Oikawa into the cave, then doesn’t start a conversation, then completely blows up and insults Oikawa! it’s just ridiculous.

And now they’re here. sitting in silence. listening to the fire and the rain.

Oikawa was unsure whether the tone between them was awkward or not. It was in that middle stage- sort of but not quite.

Well, Oikawa wasn’t going to be figuring it out by keeping his mouth shut.

He should probably learn about this man here anyway. Just as Oikawa opened his mouth to speak, Iwaizumi spoke first. “sorry,”

”Huh?” it completely caught Oikawa off guard.

“Sorry- I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that, and I shouldn't have judged you just because of rumors I heard. You made good points.”

“Oh- I uh, ok!” Oikawa squeaked.

”As an apology I- ok, so-“ Iwaizumi stopped himself from speaking as he dropped the hand that was supporting his head to pull his satchel towards himself.

Iwaizumi dug through the brown bag, shuffling between various items before stopping on one.

Iwaizumi pulls out a large jug of water. “you look like complete shit, use this so clean the mud off of yourself. I've heard that you like to be clean, right? I have a towel too. Do you have any clean clothes on you?”

Oikawa just nodded in response to all the spontaneous questions. Iwaizumi tossed the metal canteen of water in front of Oikawa, going over the flames between them. 

Oikawa grabbed the cool metal in front of him and set it beside him. “you should wash yourself off, you’re still covered in mud.

Iwaizumi wordlessly threw a towel at Oikawa, hitting him right in the face with it. Oikawa clicked his tongue in faux-annoyance.

“Gee! Thanks, Iwa-chan!” He just knew that that nickname had to get a rise out of Iwaizumi.

Even if he had forgiven Iwaizumi, it would still be fun to mess around with him a bit. Why he was annoying Iwaizumi after he offered him water and a towel- he actually didn't know. He'll pass it off as revenge for calling him a shut-in.

”What did you just call me?” 

“What do you mean, Iwa-chan? it’s just a nickname, it’s not harming anyone!”

”Whatever.” 

Oikawa hummed in response as he peeled through a few layers of clothes. First came off his woolen cloak, his haori and hakama soon followed suit. He decided he could keep his Kimono and kosode on, they were dry enough. Just give them a couple minutes and they couldn’t have any less water in them.

Oikawa threw his gloves off to the side, not minding where they landed. His eyes unconsciously traced over the groves and rivets of his hands, before turning back in and his gaze surveyed over the unconfined scars ripped and faded into the generally smooth skin.

There were plenty of scars littered across his hands, but as they got further up his wrists, they grew more scattered. They were a variety of colors, some were an angry purple or a blood fueled red, while others were nothing more than a faint change in visible texture. They crossed up and around his fingers, and slashed long against his palm.

healing may increase his abilities to self heal, but they don’t prevent grotesque scaring. His reasons for actually having these scars was because of his abilities- it's his blood that actively heals other people's wounds- internal and external. And the easiest way to get access to his own blood is through his hands. 

He’s not looking to kill himself, that’s the exact opposite of what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to save lives here not end them. 

Oikawa reached over and un-clasped the lid of the canteen and turned it over for a quick second to wet the towel before he scrubbed the material against his muddled hands and face. He used the dry side of the towel to pat at his skin and soak up the remnants of the water.

It didn’t take long for the mud to be gone from his skin. he recapped the metal canteen and tossed it back over to Iwaizumi, whose hand were open and waiting for his things to come back.

Oikawa’s eyes skimmed over his Haori and Hakama, he considered putting them back on for a split second. However he brushed the thought off with a physical movement and decided against it. He just spent all that time getting the mud off of his skin, he wasn’t going to put mud back on it. He’ll just out them back on when he wakes up the next morning.

He passed over the crumpled clothes on the floor to snatch up his satchel instead. He opened it and briefly riffled through the various contents- envelopes, jars, and so forth- until he came across fabric. Out here pulled a spare kimono, it material was still quite thin, but it would be good to use as a makeshift blanket for the night.

He pulled the kimono up and over the frame of his shoulders and wrapped the ends of it tight around himself, not bothering to put his hands through the arms.

”Took you long enough,” grumbled Iwaizumi as he watched oikawa shift backwards into the jagged stone, his shoulders shifting back and forth as he looked for that perfect spot in the cloth that wrapped just right around himself.

”I didn’t take that long, Iwa-chan!”

“Shut up- and stop using that nickname.”

”No, I don't think I will, it suits you!” 

Iwaizumi groaned at Oikawa’s response and threw his arms and head back in over exaggeration. “Knights are supposed to be cool though! You can't just add 'Chan' on the end of my name! Chan isn't cool!"

"Sure it is! The Queen let me address her as Chan, why can't I address you the same way?"

”She couldn’t have let you address her as just Chan... right?” Iwaizumi questioned, a single brow upturned.

”yeah, i suppose you’re right. I called her Chan-Sama. But still!”

"Well...Whatever, fine- But uh.” Iwaizumi paused, his entire head facing a different direction then oikawa. “I’ve calmed down now- i think. But I  _ need  _ to know what happened at the castle. Please.”

”Yeah, you do seem to be in a better mindset now. I guess I, the great Oikawa, can tell you now.” Oikawa’s upturned features accentuated the little snark in his tone he had let slide, he continued talking as Iwaizumi had just opened his mouth to retort. ”Where to begin...? Oh- ok, so, I was called to the Queen's study in a hurry. When I got there, She had explained to me that there was evidence that a noble or high-class general was plotting against her. She told me she wanted me to be on the lookout for any suspicious people around the palace. Then all of the sudden, guards came bursting into the room, all dramatic like and everything. They said the gates were under attack! So we went through the Tunnels. We made it about- halfway or so through before we ran into Ushijima himself. He Beheaded the queen and killed the guards. He demanded that I join his cause, saying about how it would be ‘better for me’ and ‘that he could promise my safety’. I called him an idiot and I ran away, I eventually made it out of the castle and to the forest. Where I was running for hours!”

Oikawa stared at Iwaizumi, waiting for any response from him.

”That’s insane- wait, Why did you just leave the queen there, can’t you healers reattach limbs?!” 2

”Were you not listening- she was beheaded!” Huffed Oikawa. “I  _ can  _ reattach limbs, but not a literal head! And besides, Ushiwaka was there. If I hadn’t run he would have forcefully made me join Shiratorizawa.” 

”Ugh- wasn’t there anything more you could have done?” Iwaizumi complained.

”I'm a healer. I barely know how to use a knife." Oikawa exasperatedly huffed. "I would not have been able to do anything more.” 

“Tch, you just sound like a coward.” Iwaizumi spat.

Oikawa felt his face heat with anger, ”How dare you- You said you were calm now. And I am no coward! My skills weren’t going to help the situation. and there were only two choices for me to make, either stay and be forced to join Shiratorizawa or run. So I ran, I’d rather die before I ever joined him!”

“Whatever.”

”Whatever."

Oikawa sat there, his head turned away from Iwaizumi’s general direction, and he glared out at the ever-pounding rain. 

Geez, what was the point of telling Oikawa to tell Iwaizumi what happened if he was just going to get mad again.

Iwaizumi was being rude, he wasn't fun to talk to. So maybe they did get off on a little bit of the wrong foot and fought in the first conversation they had with each other. But that shouldn't justify Iwaizumi's words! It was even more frustrating since Iwaizumi apologized before!

Oikawa listened to the crackling of fire with one ear and the showering rain with the other. The heat licked up through the air and bit high into the cave, and the water from the rain threatened to make its entrance into the cave.

“Sorry, again.” Blurted out Iwaizumi. “ I’m just- it's stressful. I wish i could have done something.”

Oikawa huffed in a sigh, he should stop forgiving Iwaizumi so easily. “ It’s fine.”

“It’s not though, I need to stop being mad at you. You did nothing wrong.” Iwaizumi lightly chuckled to himself.

”no need to tell me the obvious.” Oikawa giggled in return, the pressure in his shoulders easing off in the slightest amount.

Oikawa slipped his hand out of the kimono confines and messed around with the bits of dirt and rock on the floor.

”You know,” Iwaizumi cut in, drawing Oikawa’s attention. “Since Ushijima is such a bad guy, there’s probably a resistance being made.” 

”Already? I doubt it. this literally just happened today.” Oikawa frowned.

”But just think about it! Since Ushijima killed the Queen, he’ll be hated by the people! They won't accept his rule. They'll create a rebellion.”

”I guess...”

”We need to join.”

”huh? Why?”

”Why? Because we were loyal to the queen, it’s our duty to protect the kingdom.”

”You’re the only one who was knighted, the only thing my contract said was that i had to be loyal to the queen... But, where would this rebellion of yours be anyways?” Oikawa was skeptical of whatever Iwaizumi had going on in that brutish brain of his.

It was likely the capital was the only place that knew of what had happened. The villages around it and especially the villages farther back wouldn't know what happened until Ushijima made an official statement. Even then it would take days after the official statement was made for messengers to arrive out in the countryside.

”In the outlands.” Responded Iwaizumi. 

”There is no way I’m going there.” Oikawa protested.

”What? why not?”

”Haven’t you been paying attention? I’m a healer, idiot Iwa-chan. I’ll be slaughtered out there! I will be used like cattle. The outlands have no law, it’s the worst possible idea for  _ me  _ to go  _ there  _ .” Hissed Oikawa.

Iwaizumi was a knight, why didn't he know this?! Iwaizumi had seemed like an educated man before, but Oikawa was starting to doubt that now. 

”But the rebellion will help you.”

”Nope, it’s too dangerous to go out there. I’ll just be a burden.

It was well known how valuable a healer’s blood could be. And in a lawless state like the out lands, who knows what could happen there. He could easily be taken into captivity, or be found by someone connected with the black market or the capitals lords and ladies, where he could easily be taken back to Shiratorizawa.

He knows he has a large target painted on his back, 

”Aren’t you the court healer, though?” Iwaizumi shot a knowing glare at Oikawa.

”Well yes, but-“

”Then you aren’t a burden. you don’t have that title for no reason. You're a strong healer, you'd be a good edition.” Iwaizumis gaze never left Oikawa's for a second.

”I’m not changing my stance.”

He was feeling his gut clench up, he just wanted this to be over already. Couldn't Iwaizumi tell he wasn't going to change his stance? What was the point of being stubborn if Oikawa was going to be even more so as a response?

"I'm a strong knight, I'm an enlighten, I'd be able to keep you safe out there!" Iwaizumi Announced.

"I'm not changing my mind." Oikawa's voice was rising in pitch and losing the nerve he had, a generously obvious plea to be left alone.

"Where else would you go then? Back to the castle?" Iwaizumi’s filthy glare bored holes through Oikawa's eyes.

"To my friend's house!" Countered Oikawa.

"And where's that?"

"Up north." Oikawa casually threw in.

"Up north- were all the way in the southwest! It would take longer to get there than it would to the outlands!

"Even if you somehow managed to convince me to go to the outlands, there's no guarantee that there really is a rebellion. As far as we know, there are just a bunch of bandits.”

"Tch.” Iwaizumi clicked his tongue. “But Ushijima is taking the throne by force, and the queen was beloved. There will be a rebellion one way or another. If we get there and there isn't something already there. Then we'll make the rebellion."

"I'm going to my friend's place. I'm not anywhere near the outlands."

"Well- if you're so worried about your safety, I'll prove that you're safe with me and escort you to your friend's house."

"What- why?"

"It's my duty to protect the people as a knight. I'll convince you to go to the outlands with me while on the way. And since the north is so far, this would give time for people to group up in the outlands anyways."

"It's not a good idea to tell me your plan, you know. But whatever, do what you want. But if you're really set on escorting me there, then you better be ready for me to refuse to go to the outlands at the end."

"That's not going to happen. I will convince you to go. After all, you're the best healer in the land."

"Well it sure is true I'm the best healer in the land! I'm also one of the smartest people in the land! But flattery isn't going to convince me to go."

"I wasn't trying to flatter you. You seem like the type to have too big of an ego anyway." Iwaizumi huffed out a laugh.

"Rude! That's not a very nice thing to say to me, Iwa-chan." Snickered Oikawa.

"Maybe I'd say nice things if you would address me properly." Iwaizumi retorted back, an easy going smirk right on his lips.

There were words ready on the tip of his tongue, but he took it back at the very last second before he opened his mouth. There would be no end to this and they’d end up going back and forth for hours if he didn’t end it now.

Oikawa let his face drop into a pout, his cheeks puffed out the slightest bit and his bottom lip out right the slightest more. He took in a deep breathe through his nose and let the air out. At Least this fighting was more playful now, he doesn’t think he could handle any more actual fighting today. 

"Anyways, I'm gonna head to bed, Don’t think you’ve beat me just yet Iwa-Chan.” 

Iwaizumi simply nodded in response while getting up and situating his own spot to sleep in.

Oikawa situated his forearm against the floor as a pillow. And he used his hand to cradle the side of his skull.

He wrestled the spare kimono over his legs with his other arm. His feet stuck out a little, but that was fine, they were still in his boots anyway and he’d rather not get another kimono dirty.

Oikawa was as comfortable as he was going to get sleeping on the ground. He let his hips sink into the floor and he closed his eyes. 

Oikawa couldn’t help but think about Iwaizumi.

He couldn’t help but wonder whether the two would continue to get along with playful banter, or if he would be arguing with Iwaizumi the entire way to Makki and Mattsun’s house.

#

Ushijima watches Oikawa run down the icy and desolate halls of the hidden tunnels located deep within the stone castle walls.

He turned his eyes away from the figure slowly disappearing into the darkness of the barely lit hall. He fixed them onto the stain floor, and watched seemingly mesmerized as blood seeped through the cracks between the slabs of stone. 

he couldn't quite tear him away from the image in front of him. It wasn't that it disgusted him. He certainly didn't derive pleasure from it, he's just experienced this same scene so many times that he's become desensitized to it.

it's just- he didn't know. it was normal. But at the same time it was so surreal. This has been something that has been in the works since before he was born-

he's just accomplished what he was meant to do. Now what? Does he just- just walk up to the throne and sit on it? Is that what he'-s supposed to do? This part of the plan was never clear to him, he wasn;t told what to do next.

he shifted away from the bodies littered around- ah, Oikawa was gone now. 

Ushijima knew if he tried, he could easily overpower Oikawa. He could have kept Oikawa here and forced him to join Shiratorizawa one way or another.

Oikawa would make a great addition to the army Ushijima has spent years trying to make perfect. Ushijima has experienced Oikawa's experience on the field. And, he must admit he was impressed. He saw how fast and cleanly those wounds were closed. It was fascinating to watch Oikawa work on the bodies of wounded soldiers.

Compared to the various other healers Ushijima has seen throughout his years at the castle, Oikawa was no doubt the best. Oikawa worked with a unique sense of proficiency and pride no other had carried. 

Oikawa used the right amount of magic to last dozens of people and still remain abled. Oikawa was able to mathematically apply his magic to work with his body, knowing just the right amount of himself to put into his work.

Perhaps Ushijima has become biased towards Oikawa's work, preferring it over Semi's and Shirabu's. However, even the knowledge of a possible bias in his mind did not deter him. He wanted Oikawa's magic, he needed it. It didn't feel right if it wasn't Oikawa's.

He didn't know why it needed to be Oikawa's. but it did. There was just something telling him that that is what he needed.

He doubted the overlaying ache of emptiness- wrongness in the inside of his chest to subside until he got Oikawa to join him and his cause. 

He brought his feet away from the floor, forcing them to move in a seemingly mechanical way- in a way that didn't quite feel right. These feet didn't feel like his. But they were his, this was his body. 

His heavy armor clanked against each other with every shift of his arms following his feet. The noise was grading.

He brought his lip into his mouth and chewed on the chapped flesh. He pulled at it, from the side, and the taste of blood invaded a small portion of his mouth. He spit out the skin, and continued to walk down the halls. 

He rolled his shoulders back, the golden shoulder plates resting on his shoulders shifted back with the movements. His heavy boots thumped against the floor

Ushijima makes a turn to the right, and he is greeted by his attendant, Tendou Satori.

The two of them have worked together ever since Ushijima was 15, when he was first knighted. Tendou was well regarded and was recommended to Ushijima by his father when he was first looking for someone to assist him. The Tendou family was well known to have properly raised and educated their children for the sole purpose of working for generals and knights of the castle.

Ushijima had accepted the offer, and the two have worked together ever since.

Ushijima thought they worked well together. The two balance each other out in both strengths and weaknesses. While Ushijima may be a powerhouse and a well-verse fighter, he recognized that he lacked in the defensive and intuition regions. However, both of those were more-or-less Tendou's strengths. 

It was a perfect balance- well as close as he could get. There was still one more thing missing, Oikawa. 

"Did you kill her, Ushijima-sama ? Did you get'em?" Tendou bounded right up to ushijma, a cat-like grin stretched across his face.

Ushijima had noted this feature of Tendou's as something he's never seen Tendou without. One way or another- no matter the emotion, there is always that smile on his face. It's gotten to the point where it's kind of strange, he's never actually seen a smile of tendou’s fall, even in the heat of battle. 

"I killed her, However Oikawa-san escaped." Ushijima's voice contrasted Tendou's own varied one.

"aww, man! I was hoping I would be able to mess around with that Oikawa-kun already! He has the cutest face when he pouts."

"I'll get him next time.” A silent agreement on Ushijma's part. “ Have you secured the opposing forces yet?”

”Sure have! Everything has been taken care of, I had quite a fun time getting rid of those pesky court members. I let a few get away though.. Like Kuroo-kun, I would have liked to have killed him... But! All that was left was the Queen, and you got her!”

Ushijima ceased responding to tendous words as he moved onward and passed Tendou. They followed the way Ushijima was initially intending to go while Tendou followed closely behind him.

They were getting close to the throne room by now, Ushijima was starting to recognize the tunnels around this area more. they were much more familiar than the tunnels out in the far wings of the castle. 

He had mostly transverse the main parts of the castle's tunnels: the throne room, kitchen, staff quarters, the infirmary, and bedrooms. The further wings of the castle were hard to get into to memorize the walls.

Even the tunnels in the west wing- the queens- were routinely checked by trusted knights and high members of the guard. It would have been detrimental to their entire plan if he had been caught. He was banned from traversing through those tunnels because of that. 

Ushijima noted the sound of Tendou's out-of-sync shoes tapping against the cobblestone floor. Tendou's own armor scratched against each other, similar to his own.

Tendou's armor was much more spacious and lighter than Ushijima. Not normally- no, Tendou's armor meant for battle was much more than the small shoulder plates and elbow armor he had on over his purple robes. 

It wasn't long before the two reached the exit of the tunnel. 

Ushijima's gloved hand reached out and settled against the stone laying in front of him. He held a firm hand against the stone and breathed in, before pushing the stone. He grunted as the wall shifted against the flooring, revealing small ridges in the floor from the stone grinding into the stone floor. The stone has been rubbed away with time.

Ushijima pushed onward, and the stone turned out of place. Tendon walked out from behind Ushijima and passed through the opposing side of the twisted stone. After Tendou was through ushijima himself passed through the entrance. They stepped into the throne room.

The stained glass doors that stretched up to the ceiling were closed, keeping the weather from getting inside the treasured room. The stone flooring was replaced by a distinguished marble, and columns of the brown material sprouted from the floor every meter or so.

The centerpiece of the room laid at the end, framed by woven strands of blue curtains and tapestries painted over the grand throne. It was made of pure silver, a gift from the land of the east for help during a civil war not too long ago.

A large mural was embedded in the ceiling, the meaning behind the piece wasn’t known, it was long lost in time quite a few centuries ago. However, it was still a gorgeous piece of art. It painted out the story of warriors fighting to protect the throne in the cold of winter, fighting not only nature but society as a whole if the large mob had anything to say about it. In the middle of the round work was a portrait, most likely a former king. but what did he know, he was just a warlord.

His boots scraped against the floor and ended with a heavy thunk as he paved his way to the middle of this room. This was a monumental occasion, he didn’t care that nobody was here. It didn’t matter, this was a self indulgent moment, it didn’t need anyone else. 

The burning lights of the lanterns were lined up along the columns, and his shadow loomed down the dim hall. His steps echoed in the room as he approached the daunting chair.

He crossed the room with ease, head held high and shoulders pulled back. He held his hands behind his back and he kept his eyes on the throne- his throne.

He stepped up and stood over the large throne, His eyes traced the edges and grooves deliberately put there as well as those marks that are there from age. He reached out and his gloved hand groped the cold material of the arm rest. He turned around and sat on the chair, he practically melted into it. 

His eyes took in the view that the seat gave him. He was surely going to be spending much more time then he initially assumed he would here. 

“Tendou, go fetch my father’s plans for me. We need to execute the next faze as soon as we can.”

”of course, Ushijima-Sama!” Tendou quickly made his way to exit the room using the grand evergreen wooden doors.

It wasn’t even five minutes later before those doors at the opposite end of the room from Ushijima were opening.

In walked Tendou, carrying a wax sealed paper. It was the preferred form of communication between the duo, it was simply an easier way to accomplish their plans. Before, back when they had to discuss in secret, they would write down their plan and pass the message using tendou as the messenger. After it was read, they would burn the paper. It was quite an effective way to prevent eavesdropping. 

He wasn’t Ushijima’s birth father, he was his step father, however he has been the man to raise him ever since he could remember. Washijo tanji married his mother after his father died about 23 years ago, when ushijima was 3 years old. His mother died from disease not too long after, and so it was just his step-father and himself. 

” What does it read?” 

” eh-hem,  _ The next step is to deal with the quelling forces of the guard. They are currently being held in the barracks. You need to use your new found power to demand loyalty, eliminate any who dare oppose your authority _ .” 

“Great, thank you Tendou. Please burn the message now.”

”of course, Ushijima-sama!” Tendou bounded away from the room, crumpling the message in his hand and headed off to Ushijima’s private study to dispose of it there.

Ushijima contemplated, how was he going to do this? He should order the knights and guards to come to the throne room. They’ll be escorted there by Shiratorizawa soldiers to ensure there are no runners. Or maybe- he just kills all the previous ones, and trains new guards. But wait- that'll just be making more work for himself. 

And there are already such skilled soldiers in their ranks already. It would be a shame to kill them without giving them a chance to serve him. So he should bring them here, and simply eliminate the soldiers who refuse to live by his rule.

Ushijima looked out the high-arched windows rowed down the side of the stone wall. The long curtains were pulled back from the cold covered windows. You know when It’s warm inside and it's cold outside? And you can draw on the windows? Ushijima had the urge to just draw on it. Funny thing really, a warlord wanting to draw on the windows with his fingers.

He trained his eyes on the rain smashing against the windows. the glass rocked in its sockets with the push of the wind. Evergreen trees lay beyond the castle walls, its green pines filled his eyes.

The doors groaned as Tendou walked back into the room. “ please have all the guards report to the throne room in the morning. I'll be retiring to my bedroom now.” Ushijima gets off the throne and leaves the room.

(A/N: i hate how stiff and antagonistic this sounds but i just spent the last couple hours editing a bit soooo i'll come back to it.)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i didn't edit this chapter yet rip- ill get around to doing that eventually. oh and also writing the next chapter which will hopefully be out in a month or two depending on school and motivation
> 
> Edit: just realized a portion of kyoutani's pov wasnt put in for some reason. anyways i fixed it nowwwww

Kyoutani awoke the next morning to a knock to his calf. His eyes fluttered, and he was met with darkness. His ears tuned into the incessant rustling all around him. The familiar clanking of armor and movement of blankets that he woke up to every morning.

Kyoutani kept his eyes closed to his surroundings and buried his face back into the pillow for a couple more seconds of sleep. Maybe on a different day he would have gotten up as soon as he woke up, but he doesn’t really feel it right now.

to put it blatantly, he feels like absolute shit. He slept like shit and it's way too cold. And just maybe. If he stays in bed for a while longer he’ll be able to pretend the entirety of yesterday was just a dream.

Unfortunately, another kick made its acquaintance with his shin. He rolled over and cracked open his eye, he registered a figure standing over him, arms on the hips and heavy armor reflecting the small bits of lanterns on the walls into his eyes. Kyoutani pushed himself off his bed and reached up, stretching his shoulders and his back.

He could feel the judgmental gaze pointed at him, glaring into the side of his skull. “Really? Of all the days to sleep in, you chose today?”

Kyoutani let his hands fall to the side, and his eyes met with the ones boring into him. He’s been paired as a guard with Yahaba for the past few years now, the two have been in a squad since they had first joined. But even in the past half-decade Kyoutani has known Yahaba, they’ve never truly got along. There was only so much faking it till you made it could go. “Shut up, I woke up on time.”

”You’re a minute late.” Stated Yahaba, his eyes shrinking into tiny slights as he looked over Kyoutani.

”A minute means nothing.” Kyoutani pushed himself off of his mattress, and his clothed torso met the cool airy breeze traveling through the guards quarters. “Now let me through, I need to get ready.”

”We need to leave in five minutes with the rest of the guards, Lord Ushijima- I mean King Ushijima requests the castle guards present in the Throne room at sunrise.”

”I know, I know. I’ll be ready to go by then, lay me off.” It was the same routine every time between them, Yahaba would remind Kyoutani why they were getting up so early even though Kyoutani has consistently reminded Yahaba that there’s no need to do that.

Despite what Yahaba thinks, Kyoutani is a very competent soldier. In all his time, he has never once been late. Sure, he’s late to waking up a bit, but he isn’t any less behind schedule because of the habit. Yahaba just takes a long time to get ready- he spends at least 10 minutes doing his hair to get that weird swoop. Kyoutani thinks his version is a lot easier, just keep it so short you don’t need to do it. Sure plain black, short hair is boring- he’s heard it so many times- but it's so much less effort, he doesn’t even need to think about his hair.

He shuffled to the foot of his bed and passed the wooden frames, he unlatched the wooden trunk and pulled out the silver armor at his leisure. He scattered the different plates across his bed one after another. Lastly, after the armor was out of the trunk, he snatched the leather boots and heavy trousers at the bottom and threw them on the bed. He put on his clothes and armor in no time, tightening the leather straps holding the material tight on him. His eyes flitted over to his sword, leaning against the long bed post of his bunk bed.

He considered grabbing it and sliding it into its scabbard, but before he could decide whether to grab it or not, Yahaba grabbed onto his wrist and dragged him away.

”I can walk on my own, fuckhead.” Kyoutani growled at Yahaba as yanked his own wrist from the anchoring grip.

”You were taking too long, asshat. You wont need your oh-so-precious sword anyways.” Yahaba doesn’t even bother to turn around and face him while he speaks.

”Tch.”

Yahaba snatches Kyoutani's wrist before nearly dragging Kyoutani off of his feet. It's a dance so familiar that it's nearly comforting.

Kyoutani let himself be led down out of the room and out into the bitter cold of the morning. There was a man dressed in purple by the door.

The iron surrounding these shoes sloshed through the puddles left behind from the heavy rains the previous night. Kyoutani saw various others passing through the same route as him, he recognized a few of them from his shifts from throughout the castle ground. 

Their faces were plenty of different types of grief. And he wasn’t surprised in the slightest, while he hasn’t even spoken to the queen before- he knew the queen meant a lot to everyone. It would be an huge fucking shift from a nice queen to a god-damn dictator. Kyoutani- in theory- knew what this meant.

He has lost his freedom. He isn’t even his own person, just another random soldier in the ranks. He’s going to try his damn hardest not to be singled out. In this situation, attention is the last thing he needs. Being known by the dictator that ruthlessly murdered your queen is not something he really wants.

It would probably be bad- who knows what Ushijima could get away with now.

Ushijima has killed off the strongest of the knights- or if they aren’t dead, they’ve already plagued their loyalty to him. And knowing Ushijima, there is no way to possibly get out of that. Alive at least.

Kyoutani and Yahaba follow a crowd of people into the halls of the castle, the looming walls standing over him like never before.

It was way more quiet then Kyoutani has ever heard it before. He couldn’t even pick out small murmurs among the crowd. It was nothing but the goddamn armor going clunk and clicking back and forth on the floor that seemed to carry the sound miles from ahead of him.

he stared at the walls, and a bunch of the cloth paintings or whatever they are called were torn completely in half. 

Fucking Ushijima and his goddamn ego- well, that's as far as Kyoutani’s seen.

he doesn’t even know Ushijima. He has barely been in that guy's presence before. Every once in a while they’ll pass each other in the halls, but that was it! Like seriously, they haven’t spoken to each other before, and Kyoutani wouldn’t even be surprised if the guy didn’t even know Kyoutani existed.

When they have passed each other in the halls, Ushijima always holds himself in this position where you just know he’s thinking he’s better than you. Kyoutani had to hold back the growl in the back of his throat every damn time. He didn't bother to hold back his glare, though.

Ushijima climbed up the ranks easy, too damn easy. Like sure, Ushijima has the skills to back up his entire career. But- does he really deserve it.

His thoughts evaporate as soon as his foot enters the throne room. 

This entire shift in tone of the castle was throwing Kyoutani for a loop. An impending sense of doom was around every other corner, and he could feel the magic or life energy or whatever it was pulsing and rubbing against his nerves, urging him to transform and run. 

Being a transformer mage had its ups and downs, a couple enhanced senses here and there and the ability to turn into an animal- but there was also the stupid mother fucking instincts he had to deal with.

It would have been so much easier to be a cat or a bird or even a human transformer. But of course, since everything ever seems to be against him, he’s an Amarok. A wolf that hunts in the night. How stereotypical. At least he didn’t have any stupid dog ears or tail for people to fawn over. 

Up on the throne, demanding all attention in the room, is Ushijima. Ushijima’s purple cloak and golden armor sits weirdly up against the silver and blue of the rest of the background. Next to him was that weird Tendou guy. Kyoutani has never talked to him either, and he doesn’t really want to. Not before and not now, not ever. Like seriously, Tendou's creepy. He makes the hair on Kyoutani's neck stand to no end. 

There were at least a couple rows of people in front of Kyoutani. Yahaba was right next to him and was very adamantly glaring at Kyoutani with this ‘don’t speak’ look on his face.

Not like Kyoutani was even going to, like the fuck. Kyoutani's nerves bounced around in his body, forced to move by the hand of his instinctive need to use magic. It tingled and jumped in his arms, shaking them with very little effort.

Kyoutani fixed his eyes up in a scorn-filled glare on Ushijima. And he willed his mind to quiet down for one second and to just focus.

Throughout the room were various men dressed the same as Ushijima. They were lined against the walls surrounding the room. Kyoutani never thought Shiratorizawa was big enough to have this many extra guards on hand. he knew they were fairly popular and well known, but this was just-

The rest of the guards and knights filed into the room, pushing the crowd forward some to accommodate the rest of the people.

Ushijima looked over the crowd of people in front of him. If Kyoutani could tell right, it was every single person on the staff- that hasn’t been killed or was lucky enough to have escaped.

Last night, Kyoutani was stuck in some hallways deep within the main part of the castle. He hadn’t been close to any possible exits. He was quickly found and outnumbered by the Shiratorizawa soldiers. He had no choice but to surrender. If he hadn’t he would be more then dead just about now.

Ushijima’s voice boomed in the silence of the hall. “Head to the front of the room if you are unwilling to serve me.”

Yahaba’s Hand clenched around Kyoutani’s wrist, keeping him grounded. He was temped to bark at Yahaba, to tell him he wasn’t stupid enough to do something like that, nor would anyone else be. 

Unfortunately, there seemed to be idiots in the crowd this morning.

At least four men wrestled their way through to the front, pushing through the crowd with more force then fucking necessary. Kyoutani recognized one of them as a knight he’d see whenever he was scheduled in front of the right wings library. For spending so much time there that knight was sure as hell dumb. He didn’t think he’d possibly stand a chance against Ushijima, right? Like maybe Kyoutani would have been the same if it was a one on one thing- but there were way too many guards in this room.

One wrong move and that knight would be skewered like a kebab.

Kyoutani spared a glance to Yahaba. He was biting his lip too hard, that was definitely going to be drawing blood soon if he didn’t stop. His nose picked up the iron scent of blood just as Yahaba’s teeth punctured the skin on his lip. Stupid enhanced senses.

Ushijima’s eyes flicker from the crowd of people to the four souls up front. “i'll give you ten seconds to change your mind.”

The hall was submerged into an underwater like silence. It rang throughout Kyoutani’s head, and the anticipation was building in his throat. Yahaba’s grip was threatening to cut off all circulation in his hand.

Kyoutani was counting down the seconds in his head. Were these men going to go back into the crowd? Or were they too prideful to back down.

These seconds felt like eternity as Kyoutani’s eyes bounced back and forth between Ushijima and the men. 

Time seemed to move in slow motion as Ushijima opened his mouth to speak again

“Then, You four shall be executed.” And the room froze. “You have made your choice.”

The knight had drawn his sword, in a pitiful final attempt to do something against a dictator. With little hesitation in his steps, the knight charged towards Ushijima. The knight vocally cursed Ushijima, wishing him a fate worse than death. Kyoutani's gut churned as he watched the guards race to meet the man. 

A handful of guards quickly surrounded him, and they thrusted the tips of their swords and spears at him. They pierced through the handful of spaces between his flimsy armor. The knight let out an agonizing howl of pain as the blades were forced through his systems and out the other side of his body, piercing the inside of his armor. 

Blood gushed down the wood of the spears and dripped onto the marble floor, staining the pristine white. The yells transformed into a disgusting gurgle of a choke as a small blade was brought swiftly across the knight's neck, breaking the skin and forcing blood down his throat and into his lungs and stomach.

It was slashed in an instant, and the man started choking and gurgling on his own blood. His head lolled back, and his eyes were caught by the crowd.

The guards yanked their weapons out of the man with a few easy tugs, and he helplessly fell to the floor with a sickening spat. Blood flew across the floor and splattered onto the guards and stairs just in front of him.

Kyoutani yanked his hand from Yahaba’s grip, throwing them both off balance, and pinched his nose as hard as he could. He could practically taste the blood, and he gagged while trying to keep it out of his senses.

His feet felt heavy as he watched the guards swiftly skewer the three other men that were frozen in place. All of their rich blood pooled on the floor, staining the paths that many would be forced to walk on.

Kyoutani’s stomach lurched at the sight, his nose was overwhelmed with the smell of blood. He squeezed his eyes shut to get some kind of grasp over his body. 

This was a part of his magic he would never get over. His senses were so easily taken over and he went into overdrive. His instincts were set in- telling him to transform and either run or attack.

He can’t do either. He plants his feet into the floor, and keeps himself from moving.

He takes deep breaths using his mouth, trying his best to ignore the taste of blood on his tongue. The air was laced with it and he felt it go down his throat. 

he cracked an eye open, and he was met with the dizzying sight of the solid marble floor.

God, how humiliating. He’s a guard for goodness sakes and just a little bit of blood makes his instincts go haywire. He’s gotten too used to wearing those nose plugs while on the job, maybe it would have been a better idea to let his nose be.

He snapped his line of sight up to the throne.

Ushijima was whispering in Tendou’s ear, their voices were hushed. He wasn’t even able to pick up on a hint of their breath in the sickeningly silent room. 

An extra large grin made its way onto Tendou face and Tendou’s weird fucking cat eyes got this glint in them. Kyoutani could barely even see Tendou’s eyes- they were practically closed at this point.

Tendou moved away from Ushijima’s side and skipped down the couple steps it took to get down to the floor like the rest of them.

Now, Kyoutani knows he’s a pretty big guy, he’s at least half a hand taller then all of his other guards- but Tendou is something else. He’s tall in a different way then Kyoutani, Tendou looks down on people. Having Tendou standing up there in front of him was already so much.

But having Tendou’s lanky figure in front of them was even worse, because they couldn’t trick themselves into thinking it was just the angle making it seem like Tendou was looking down on them.

Tendou’s steps echoed through the heavyweight of the air around them. Tendou’s face didn’t change from that weird grin in the slightest as he moved closer and closer. Tendou stopped a couple feet away with the four dead- or dying- men at his feet. Kyoutani held his head high as Tendou’s eyes flickered over to him, and pointed right at him.

Kyoutani nodded in acknowledgement of the movement. And Tendou nodded back.

“Please step to the front.” Joyful malice dripped from Tendou’s mouth, spilling all over Kyoutani's soul.

Kyoutani didn’t lift his eyes from Tendou as his head dipped for a split second, before he shifted from foot to foot, weaving his way through the rows of people in front of him.

There were bound to be hole being bored into the back of his head from Yahaba- but who fucking care, He didn’t know why he of all people was singled out. And its not like he meant to be. Stupid Yahaba. 

Blood invaded his nose once again as he got closer to the source. Just take deep breaths and ignore it- a mantra he’s hoped would work one day.

Kyoutani stayed silent as he stopped in his tracks right before the bodies on the floor, not particularly caring if he was standing in their blood or not. It was a small enough act of passive aggressiveness for nothing to happen.

Tendou’s gaze followed his feet, his mouth dripping pure venom dripping from his lips. “Oh, no, no, no! This won't do at all, we can’t have _filthy_ _puppies_ tracking blood all over this place.”

Kyoutani winced at the nickname, his shoulders jumping in their sockets. It leaves a bitter taste in the back of his mouth, transformers were known as filth- not particularly anymore, but these things are still being hurled at him. He wasn't seen as one-hundred percent human, which is stupid. Since he is one- but nope. Just because he can turn into an entirely different animal at will, he's apparently tainted the blood of all human kind.

”But what could I do about this?” Tendou’s sarcasm left Kyoutani wishing he could ring that bony neck of his. “What does it matter anyways! I’m sure if I gave you a treat you’d do it for me!”

Don’t fucking react- he can’t fucking react or its all over. All he can do is listen to the bullshit pour out of Tendou’s mouth. The derogatory words and curses- the fucking audacity this man has to keep taunting Kyoutani for a response like this.

And they just don’t stop. God, Tendou just needs to shut the fuck up- no matter how much Kyoutani want’s to snap at Tendou. He fucking can’t. he’s powerless. And its so stupid. God this entire situation is stupid.

Kyoutani’s teeth grit together, clenched hard enough that Kyoutani’s a little worried about one of them cracking or something. He doesn’t let the tension build anywhere else in his body, Tendou’s eyes seem amused at the small reactions he’s managed to get out of Kyoutani.

”Aww!” Cooed Tendou, his body stretched far too forward to be comfortable. “ Don’t be like that! I was just messing around!”

Kyoutani haughtily nodded, his bones cricking in his neck with his gradual movement.

“Don’t worry about anything I said! Because Ushijima-sama, over here happens to think having a  _ big-bad _ wolf by his side would be quite useful! Your expertise was being wasted out here in guard. Sure- you may not be a Griffin or a drake, but it’s nice to have a  _ cute _ , little  _ puppy  _ around.” Tendou’s gleeful expression was more than enough for Kyoutani to want to gag on all its own.

Kyoutani’s neck creaked as he forced an obedient nod out of the straining bones, desperate for Kyoutani to let him shift in the way they wanted to and turn Kyoutani exactly into what Tendou wanted him to.

”I know exactly what i'll have you do! Follow me!” Tendou turned back around and stalked back up the steps.

Kyoutani was fucked, absolutely fucked. He stole a quick glance back at Yahaba. He seemed to be in a sort of shock, his face was frozen and mouth wide open. It would probably do the fucker good if he was in Kyoutani’s place.

Kyoutani hesitated not for a second more before marching after Tendou. “Like a dog obedient to its master...” Muttered Tendou, muffling a giggle in his hand.

#

Oikawa wasn't used to waking up from the morning light. Back in his bedroom at the castle, he specifically requested curtains over his windows. He was able to sleep at any time of the day with them.

The thought fleeting as the morning light shining right in his face took any other thought than to cover his face from him.

he silently prayed to the gods for just _one more minute of rest._ As he shifted, he felt his entire body tense. Just great! his muscles just had to be stiff. so stupid, why can't they work with him for once! He hates being sore, and healing could only go so far.

His prayer to the gods was not answered, as he started to hear loud noises or something he could not be bothered to identify, interrupting his attempt to pretend it was night once again.

It was quiet for a second, and Oikawa let his shoulders relax as much as they could. ' _just another 15 minutes'_ he mouthed the words, but he didn't really think he said them. maybe he did- but who even cares if he did. 

Then the noise returned seeking vengeance. Its ear grading noise finally brought him out of whatever half-asleep state he was in.

He shot up, covering his ears as he frantically turned his head trying to find whatever was making that noise. 

His eyes narrowed to the entrance of the cave.

He was forced to squint to make out what was there. It was Iwaizumi, in complete armor furiously scrubbing away at multiple metal dishes.

Oikawa groaned. And fell back onto his arm, forcefully pushing his head against his arm to subdue to noise.

he was tempted to just yell at Iwaizumi to shut the hell up- who does dishes like that! Was this a common thing with the knights? Were all knights just brutes?

Oikawa really couldn't just yell at this brute to shut up, that would be rude! And he is anything but rude. He chose to say nothing and hope this was a one-time thing.

Oikawa barely knows Iwaizumi. Like sure they've _probably_ have passed each other in the halls before, he doubts they've ever actually even greeted each other before.

because the fact was- Oikawa did rarely leave his rooms. And when he did, it was for a late-night walk when everybody else was already asleep.

it wasn’t like he did this on purpose, he actually really enjoyed talking to people! that’s just how it was, he was a busy man and the only time he was free was in the middle of the night.

He would spend hours hunched over his desk, forgoing the real human interactions in favor of learning. And Oikawa was actually quite content with that.

He talked to people on a daily basis whenever they came to his office to get patched up, shouldn't that be enough?

Oikawa was surprised he was even able to come remotely close to ignoring the clanking of the dish for a solid amount of time. But the horrid noise of metal ringing against each other quickly threw out any chance he had at ignoring it after tuning back in.

He threw the kimono he placed on top of himself last night off, but surprisingly that wasn’t the only thing.

Another coat- presumably Iwaizumi’s- was placed right on top of him. gingerly laid on top of his thin kimono. It was a boring black, unlike Oikawa's split Blue and Grey kimonos, but it was made of a thick wolf skin. The fur comfortably held in heat, and was a great length for a fur coat too.

He hadn’t realized how chilly mornings in spring could be until he shivered. 

Iwaizumi seemed to be dead-set on being the epitome of chivalrous.

But Oikawa wasn’t going to let Iwaizumi get away with being _chivalrous._ oh, no way- he wasn't going to let Iwaizumi win.

It didn’t matter how much Oikawa wanted to snatch that garment and pull it back around himself. He would rather freeze his ass off rather than give in!

Oikawa knew he could be competitive- and maybe this was on the border of competition and self-destruction. But he'll be damned if he doesn't prove to Iwaizumi that he doesn't need him.

Oikawa looked around himself, noticing his soaked belongings gone off the ground and missing. As well as his bag nicely set up against the wall.

god damn, that Iwaizumi! Iwaizumi is making it hard to not like his presence! 

But Oikawa’s not gonna change his mind, he’s going to continue to not like Iwaizumi until the end of time if he has to.

Oikawa’s joints cracked and groaned as he pushed himself off the ground. He rolled his shoulders back in an effort to loosen them just the smallest bit.

He quickly brushed off his kimono, and he half walked-half limped over to the mouth of the cave.

”What are you doing?” Oikawa cocked his head, he watched Iwaizumi’s movements against the metal dishes.

”Cleaning these pots, we got to cook food somehow.” Iwaizumi didn't look up from what he was doing.

”Cool, cool. so, how’s this going to work?” Oikawa asked- maybe he should have added context to that but a little too late now.

”How's what gonna work?” Iwaizumi finally did look up to Oikawa. 

”I mean- just- do you know where we are going next?”

“I’m not particularly sure, but our best bet would be this village I passed through yesterday on my way to the castle, before that storm and everything.” Iwaizumi 

“Decent plan- cool, ok.” Oikawa seriously had no clue what he was doing.

Was the outside world the same as it was three years ago or was it different- well three years isn't actually that long but still!

”Oh yeah, weren’t you worried about all that healer stuff? do you have anything you could disguise yourself with?”

”No, the only clothes I had were the ones I changed into last night. And I'm not cutting my hair.” Oikawa added.

Iwaizumi hummed in response. “you could probably wear one of my coats then, it’ll be better than nothing until we can get you something else. Oh- and speaking of clothes, I cleaned your ugly ones this morning when I got up. They're drying over on that tree now.”

Iwaizumi pointed over his shoulder to a short tree, it’s leaf-covered branches shot out in every direction. 

On a particular low branch, laid his clothes. drying in the wind. “thanks, I guess.” Muttered Oikawa.

Oikawa decided he was going to be as annoying to Iwaizumi as he could, maybe then Iwaizumi would give up on getting him to join this nonexistent rebellion. “were you really serious about getting me to join you?”

”Of course I am. I don't care that you're kind of infuriating. You're a skilled healer.”

”Oh don't worry, I can be a lot worse than just kind of infuriating!” Oikawa's normally sing-song voice broke up into a slightly higher pitch to emphasize the meaning of his words.

Iwaizumi grumbled in response. this was gonna be fun, to antagonize Iwaizumi like this.

There was something about the words 'you're a skilled healer.' That just wasn't feeling right. It left a bitter feeling in the back of his mind- but he just couldn't pinpoint why. 

Oikawa brushed it off, for now, he'll think more about it later. For now, he'll just focus on making sure his clothes were clean.

"I wonder what's for breakfast..." murmured Oikawa, not particularly looking for an answer.

He approached his clothes hanging off of the branch. He made sure to watch the ground as he approached it, he would much prefer his shoes clean rather than muddy again.

"I have leftover vegetables and fruit from my dinner last night, we can have that for breakfast." Iwaizumi replied to Oikawa's muttering.

Oikawa grimaced at the thought of eating leftovers, but he made no comment on it. 

he knew he desperately wanted the food at the castle back- he wanted everything at the castle back. The castle was his home and he was forced out of it into the dangerous outside world with a big ass target on his back. safe to say it was not the situation he had ever wanted to be in. Which he has made abundantly clear to himself.

palms up, he grabbed onto the gloves gripped onto through the bark of the tree. It was dry enough- still damp but they would do for now. 

A Breeze pushed through the trees and shivers ran up Oikawa's spine. And he immediately snatched the Kimono hanging up beside the gloves.

And boy did he already regret it, it wasn't just barely damp- practically dry like the gloves. Oh no no no, it was still dripping water! 

he threw that back on the tree branch right next to the hakama and haori splayed out across the branches and prayed to the gods that Iwaizumi saw none of that. Oikawa was supposed to be cool! And cool people don't make stupid mistakes!

Oikawa looked back, only to see Iwaizumi still focused on the pots. Oikawa turned back to the kimono. He rang and straightened it out before turning back towards the cave. 

That coat was still laying on the floor, absolutely taunting him. He was _not_ going to be giving in today- he took back his words as soon as another breeze blew through the trees and a violent shiver went through his entire body.

His stomach violently shuddered and goosebumps raced around his skin. the breeze pushed through and twirled around his body and shifted his clothes from side to side, tousling his bangs while it was at it.

Stupid wind! What the heck was it even good for! heckity heck, it was way too cold for him- he wishes the wind never existed. who cares about the ecosystem!? he'd rather plants not be able to pollinate through wind them be cold.

What's the point of a breeze if it's going to freeze his butt off!? There was no way in heck he would ever use a simple coat for the reason that it was meant for! 

Now that he thinks that it doesn't actually seem like a good thing to do since he is cold- but nope! he'd rather die them put that stupid coat on.

Stupid Iwaizumi and his stupid chivalry.

Oikawa glared at the coat like it was Ushijima himself. He put every single negative emotion he has ever felt in his life into that gaze, and he was not gonna let it up. 

#

"I'm tired!" whined Oikawa, his feet dragged against the earthy ground and his head hung back. his half dry hakama swayed with the movements of his hip, snapping back and forth with every harsh twist his body put through.

The two of them have been walking for an hour now. The sun was still low in the sky, but it was covered by the clouds, as well as the tall evergreen trees.

the green trees hung overhead, not low enough to get in the way any more then just snagging oikawa’s hair every once in a while.

their green pines also found a home in between the small threads of his hair, and burying themselves in there. 

Iwaizumi had already chuckled at oikawa for his little miss-do once he had noticed oikawas little problem, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it...

because whenever he put the hood of his cloak on, the needles got in to the fabric instead. 

He tugged the fur coat back over his shoulders- shuddering in it. He wasn't particularly happy about wearing it, but he was cold and he needed a disguise until they bought new clothes for him. 

"What am I supposed to do about that?" Replied Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi was at least 20 steps ahead of Oikawa, and he was briskly walking through the mud along the side of the stream. It was obvious by the way Iwaizumi moved that he was used to harsh travel like this.

They've been following this steam for about half the time they've been walking. Oikawa briefly remembered reading in a book that a stream leads to a river or just some sort of large water source- and that water source leads to civilization. 

Which is where they needed to go. It wasn't the best thing to do- to go into a village so close to the capital. It was bound to be crawling with soldiers loyal to Ushijima. But there wasn't a choice. They needed the supplies and a safe place to dispose of the extra weight they wouldn't need.

"I don't know- why don’t we take a break!" Huffed Oikawa.

"We just took one 20 minutes ago!" Argued Iwaizumi

"So? I need some rest! I was running for hours yesterday too, you know."

"If we take a break every 20 minutes we won't get to the village tonight- if you want to sleep in a bed I suggest you suck it up. And I ran more than you yesterday! I was walking since the sun rose until I got to that cave."

"Humph, fine whatever, Iwa-chan..."

The wind blew through the trees, filling the quiet air between them.

"...Do you have any water?" Oikawa asked, biting back a giggle at iwaizumi freezing in place.

"Oh my god! You asked for water _five minutes_ ago!" 

"I'm thirsty!” argued oikawa. “You can't blame my body for asking for water…! Aaaaaand I _may or may not_ have to go to the bathroom...like right now."

"Fine- go ahead, I don't care anymore.” Iwaizumi groaned into his hands. "we are never going to get to this village."

“you’re the one who chose to come with me! i never told you that you had to come.”

Oikawa just barely caught wind of Iwaizumi’s snappy reply before he had already thrown his bags and gloves onto a nearby log and was skipping behind a tree to pee as Iwaizumi planned his murder. Not really but from the scowl, Iwaizumi was making Oikawa just had to assume.

It wasn't like Oikawa was doing this on purpose! it was just a habit to listen to his body, it's not good to hold it in!

Taking care of your body may not seem like a big deal to some people- Oikawa has definitely seen his fair share of examples of this- but it was really important to him! he didn't keep clean just because it felt nice, but because it improved the overall quality of his healing. He has a good reason!

Oikawa quickly finished up and headed back over to where he had left his stuff. He quickly flipped through his bag to find something to sanitize his hands with.

"So Iwa-chan?" Oikawa questioned as he rubbed alcohol into his hands, his hands red and inflamed in only the scared area. his hands basked in the coolness of the wind, sealing relief from the small burn and sting before he pulled his gloves back on. 

Iwaizumi grunted in acknowledgment. 

"How long have you been a knight?"

"I was knighted when I was 16, so 9 years now."

"You're only 25?! with a face like yours I thought you would at least be 30!"

"Haaaah? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing at all!- You know, I've been healing since I was a teen, but I became a professional since-"

"Since three years ago- I'm well aware. People would have to have been born in the center of the earth not to know of your grand entrance."

"I'll let you know that the introduction of mine took weeks of planning!" 

"It took you weeks to plan that lame-ass speech?"

"What part of it was lame?! The queen loved it!" 

"Every part of it was lame!" Rebutted Iwaizumi. "and the Queen was just being nice."

"You're so mean to me, Iwa-chan! I'm 24 by the way- but at least my face matches my age!"

"My face is perfectly fine."

"No, it's not! With all that frowning you do, you’re already gonna get wrinkles!"

"Well sorry that I have better things to spend my money on- like charity- rather than spend it on expensive oils and use it on nobody but myself."

"Oh my god, you're so mean!"

"You started it- either way, we need to get going now." Iwaizumi urged Oikawa to get a move on.

The two packed up their things and continued along the side of the stream.

#

Oikawa was more than ready to just straight up cut off his own legs, and he doubts he would regret it. The stream they’ve been following did actually turn into a river, and Oikawa was super excited for that. However, that was literally an hour ago, and he felt like he might just drop right now.

Which is stupid! This shouldn’t be happening! His accelerated cells should have already healed him already- but then again he guesses maybe since he has been continuously working his muscles his cells might not be able to repair them as fast- But still! 

His shoulders and feet were killing him, his muscles were strained beyond belief and throbbing as he stepped over the uneven rocked.

his legs strained and pulled too far with every step, giving themselves a nice burn in the very back of them.

He readjusted the strap hanging off of his shoulders, he swore that after this he was definitely going to get a horse. Who cares if they smell bad and are a total hassle! He doesn’t have to carry bags or have sore muscles at all!

The Evergreen trees that were back by the capital thinned out and were replaced with oak trees. Oikawa didn’t know which he preferred between the two. On one hand- Oak trees were fucking pretty, but on the other hand evergreens were more familiar and stayed consistent.

Ya know what, whichever one he chooses is better doesn’t matter because he doesn’t like trees.

To keep himself entertained- or as Iwaizumi has called it, sane- he has taken up to rambling Iwaizumi’s ear off. And by that he means complain. About every single thing.

It’s just so easy to talk! Iwaizumi has already signed up for this and he’s made it clear that he’s not backing out of this now, so Oikawa might as well take advantage of the company.

”I’m telling you, Almond moisturizer is so much better for your skin then whatever they were providing for you guards and knights or whatever you are! I was in the process of actually replacing all of your guy’s stuff with this! I’m telling you, it's the best thing since the invention of bread! Literal bread! I would die for this, like honestly- oh!” Oikawa paused to catch his breath.

“And did you know that people used to do this weird medical practice called ‘bloodletting’ before magic was a thing? There’s not much on it, but apparently people thought that you could get rid of disease by draining it from your blood! That’s so weird-”

In the minimal time that Oikawa has spent with Iwaizumi, he’s observed a certain dynamic between them. Of course, this dynamic spawned from Oikawa’s ability to talk until he drops and not really anything from Iwaizumi’s side. From what he’s seen, Iwaizumi just seems fine to let Oikawa talk. Not that Oikawa’s complaining. 

Oikawa pushed through the thin branches scratching at his moving form. 

The quick flash of a question passes through his mind- and the barely existing thought already got the gears working in his head to ask the question. “Hey, Hey, Iwa-Chan?”

”What is it?” Replied Iwaizumi, his voice held an even tone of tame in it.

”What was that job you were returning from?” Oikawa asked.

Iwaizumi seemed like the quiet type, and probably didn’t open up much. So personal questions were a no, even if Oikawa was beyond curious about Iwaizumi.

And he never would stoop so low as to ask ‘what is your favorite...’ questions. That was something he would never do, no matter how desperately he needed to talk. he would rather stay silent then use those.

“I was coming back after serving as a bodyguard for a duke until a very important shipment left his home.” Iwaizumi replied.

”Oh- I see! Wait, what do you knights do anyways? From what I’ve seen most of you guys just walk around the castle all day.”

”For claiming to be so smart, your actually pretty dumb-“

”Hey! It’s not my fault that they haven’t exactly written down everything you guys do in the books.”

”So in all the time you spent in the castle, you never actually bothered to learn the jobs there?”

”They weren’t relevant!”

”And skincare was?”

”Oh shush! You would understand the importance of skincare too if you even used some!”

”My skin is fine! Anyways- A knight usually serves as an elite fighter, bodyguard, or a mercenary for lords or high-ranking nobles. Personally though, I extended my services to a majority of people, including commoners.”

”That... actually makes sense. Gee, who knew that you actually knew something! And I thought you were just some dumb brute like the rest of them!” 

”Oh my god, shut the fuck up.” Iwaizumi’s words held no actual bite in them, they never had in particular.

the two of them kinda naturally fell into this cycle of easy banter.

”No need to be so vulgar, Iwa-Chan!”

The rush of the river picking up into rapids up ahead flooded the area around. The river dropped down- wait no they were moving upwards now. Oikawa’s joints protested as he was forced to move his legs at a deep angle. 

The drop off of the small cliff started to grow deeper, 5 feet- 10 feet- 20 feet. It was starting to get dangerous to walk so close to the edge with slow limbs and tired minds. 

Every now and again, he would force his attention onto the placement of his feet, double-checking that he wasn’t drifting away or off.

How far was the village away from here? Due to Iwaizumi’s insistence they haven’t taken a break in quite a while, and he had said if they kept a consistent pace they would be able to make it there before sun down. 

By now it had to be dinner time, his stomach churned at the thought. They had decided to briefly stop for lunch back when the sun was high above them - though not particularly heating them in the cold weather- but that was a while back and he was getting hungry again. The sun getting suspiciously close to the forested mountains, dropping a yellow-pink background close to the blue sky and mild clouds. 

Maybe Oikawa Should have been thankful it wasn’t raining again- and that the sun was actually out for once, but my god he would not be grateful for a thing until he got into a “You stopped talking for a bit there, are you ok?”

”Yup, just wondering how close we are to that village. And if we can even afford anything.”

”I mean- we passed that drop off not too long ago so- the village should be about another 30 minutes or so.”

”Really? Sweet! I absolutely need to sit down and sleep and eat- I need a real bed-“

”As for our funds.” Iwaizumi interrupted, eyes drifted to the satchel attached to the armored plates over his hips. “I’m running low, I only brought enough silver with me for this trip, I wasn’t expecting to need extra. I have probably 30 silver coins and 1 gold. If we really needed to we could barter some things- like your un-necessities.”

”Excuse you, everything I have is very much a necessity- but I suppose we will barter one way or another. So I suppose I can spare a few things. I wasn’t able to grab much before I left, all I have is about... 50 silver coins and a bit of gold.” Contemplated Oikawa, his posture shifted from foot to foot. 

”Ok, so here’s the deal. Do not, under any circumstance, let people know you have gold. That’s a sure-fire way to get mugged.” Advised Iwaizumi.

”Well, I know that!” Huffed Oikawa.

”Did you though? I mean you weren’t even certain what a knight even did just a bit ago.”

“ I lived in a village for a while, of course I knew-Geh! you aren’t even listening! Just like I thought, you knights are all boring and mean!- wait, how do you lug around that sword? It looks like it weighs more than me!”

”I’m sure it doesn’t actually weigh that much. You’re just being dramatic again.”

”Me? Dramatic! Oh no, I would never be! How dare you accuse me of such an atrocity!” 

“Sure, sure. Not like you over-exaggerate everything.”

”I do not!” Persisted Oikawa.

”Hey look, you’re doing it again.” Deadpanned Iwaizumi.

”Oh my god, stoooop! You’re so mean to meee!” Oikawa playfully slapped at the air where Iwaizumi’s head was, carrying his entire body with the motion.

Oikawa drew circles in the sky with his eyes, outlining their puffy shapes in his head. He assumed he could survive thirty more minutes of this- it wasn’t too bad compared to what it could be. He’s been walking for hours now and thirty minutes is nothing compared to that!

Oikawa’s feet trudged through the dirt, dragging foliage along with him. He grimaced at the muddy leaves sticking to the bottom of his kimono and bunching on his shoes.

He stepped on some moss, and he took the opportunity to wipe his shoes against them to try and stop the mud build up.

Thick clumps of bushes brushed against the coat he was hiding from the dry cold in. Oikawa thinks this might be the warmest he has ever been outside in the late winter. If he remembers correctly, he used to just use cloaks and jackets to layer in. But the fur on this may as well have been the equivalent of 4 cloaks. He felt a cold breeze blow past, but it only actually hit his face. His torso was completely toasty and felt none of that breeze. Maybe he’ll keep this coat after this whole bodyguard-escort thing.

Oikawa noticed a little too late- by that he was drifting too close to the edge of the short cliff. By there, was bound to be mud and he would be likely to slip and fall.

Carefully correcting his steps, he moves back towards the opposing side. He walked pushed up against the bushes to his side. Oikawa hated how clumsy he could be sometimes. 

While others saw it as ironic- Oikawa was a man known for his perceptiveness, able to read people like a book. However when Oikawa focused a little too much on his thoughts he could get his feet mixed up and easily trip or lean off to the side. 

The sound of horses in the distance drew his attention. He froze in place, body stilling involuntarily. Was it Shiratorizawa men? Or just regular travelers?

His head snapped over to Iwaizumi, unsure whether to keep moving or hide or go over and see who it is- Iwaizumi’s face was furrowed in concentration.

He was mostly looking at the way of where the trotting and neighing of horses could be heard, along with the clatter of scuffling.

“Iwa-Chan, what do we-?“

”we keep moving, we should avoid the road. If we run into anyone we should hide or act like a normal person.”

”It's kinda hard to act like a normal person when we look like this.” Oikawa stated.

“I know- but if you act it enough you can usually sell it.”

”fine.” 

Oikawa urged his limbs to move. Something burned in the back of his mind. The feeling started just above his stomach, and then traveled up to his throat.

Whatever the feeling was it was bad- it was uncomfortableness, dread, it was something! He wasn’t sure what it really was, but it was bad. He had a bad feeling- about what? Hell if he knew, he just had a bad feeling.

They continued following the river with intent. They traveled through the opened grass trail in between the tall trees.

Oikawa watched Iwaizumi’s armored back through the condensation of his breath. They wove around the clumps of bushes and stepped between the sopping rocks. 

He was hit with a wave of nostalgia- This reminded him of the time he was tasked with walking a few days through the woods to get to a cabin a ways away.

The client had said their brother had been sick for weeks and they had needed Oikawa to see if he could help with anything.

Oikawa wasn’t used to leaving his home for his clients. usually they came to him, excluding the various noblemen that have transported him (using their own resources, of course) his home and shop to their own for some treatment. 

but for a small fee, Oikawa agreed to hike down to the cabin. That was probably the most wooded area he had ever had to travel through, even comparing to now. He had to squeeze through the gaps between the trees and bushes and all kinds of shrubs.

His kimono and hakama had gotten caught on the little stickers of trees and bushes so many times. It practically shredded the clothes and it was probably one of the only times he regretted not wearing tunics and trousers or anything more modern. But nothing could beat the kimono in the summer humidity, so maybe it was fine.

Either way- that was certainly a trip back he was not particularly happy making, even if that man had made a full recovery within a couple days. He has standards you know! 

He was never that big of a fan of camping, way too dirty and cramped. So just imagine how horrible it was in those stuffy woods!

The only good part of that place was this one cold lake he came across, it was crystal clear and was just the right amount of cold to ward off the blazing sun and humid air.

He's been forced to sleep outside plenty of times on his way to Makki and Mattsun's house. Those two decided to live further from most people for the one and only reason of being introverts. And so of course, the closest in was two days away, and the closest village was a single day's walk. But who was Oikawa to rain on their people-avoiding parade. 

The brush began to thicken too much to walk through on the side of the river, they were forced to venture a little ways from the body of water. The river itself is no longer in vision.

The ravine sure is, but not the water itself. The trees keep pushing, forcing them away with a thickening brush. They are forced further and further from the river.

They were being forced closer to the road. That realization spiked the feeling of discomfort in his stomach. Man, he would have so much rather been walking next to the cliff then closer to the road way. 

They walked for a while, still following what little spaces between the trees that they could. The dense forest pushed the sunset out of site, and it was becoming darker by the minute. 

If they couldn’t make their way out of the forest soon, it would be too dark to make their way out and they would be forced to camp for the night.

But there really wasn't much Oikawa could do. Iwaizumi was adamant that the village was close enough to not stop by now, but what if they got lost? After all it was dark out, and the moon wasn’t likely to be able to be seen through the forest. 

The sound of horses were heard again, much closer than the ones before. It was probably only 50 meters away. And the trees only pushed them closer in the direction of the faint trotting. The rustle of the leaves and branches drowned out the noise of the hooves against dirt.

Up ahead, he looked around the side of Iwaizumi and saw gleaming lights through the trees. Oikawa had been unable to see it before due to the trees being so thick, and completely taking up all the view.

Iwaizumi turned back to talk with Oikawa, though it was quite hard to tell. “We’re going to end up walking on the road. If you see anyone, hide in the bushes. We don’t want to risk being seen by anyone possibly affiliated with Shiratorizawa.”

”you got it.” Nodded Oikawa.

The two of them cut through the trees, going closer to the left where the road is presumed to be. His eyes were trained on the shoes in front of him, making sure he knew where he was stepping. 

It wasn’t long before they made it to the opening between the trees, his feet appreciated the flat dirt under them. Rocks weren’t digging into the thin soles of the leather shoes he was wearing. 

The clopping of hooves was heard behind him, and Oikawa froze. He briefly turned back and made eye contact with Iwaizumi.

Iwaizumi’s eyes were wide, wide enough to see the reflection of the minimum moonlight on. Wide enough to see his own startled reflection in them.

Oikawa dove behind the bushes, and he heard additional snaps and harsh rustling, indicating Iwaizumi had done the same. Oikawa’s forearms the rocky ground and his knees scrape against it. It was dark- too dark and he couldn’t see anything but he could hear everything. Oikawa heard his heart pounding in his head, and his breathing seemed too heavy. 

They fell terribly silent. Listening, waiting- just anything that wasn’t moving. The sounds of moving up the dirt road became noisier as it grew closer. The thumps against the road were so close- too much for comfort. from the number of footsteps, it was likely to be more than one person- two perhaps? Saying that there’s one on the horse and a pair of boots heard.

Oikawa couldn’t see the men, only the small flames lighting up in their lantern, but he could very well hear them.

”-said if we could find anyone who escaped the castle, we would get paid! Big time! I’m talking about a handful of gold coins!” One man argued, his voice was annoyingly nasally, it sounded like he had cotton stuffed up it. 

The men slowed walking into a stop just a few feet away.

”Yeah, that’s totally a great deal and all... But we aren’t bounty hunters or mercenaries! We are fucking merchants.” The person Oikawa has now dubbed the voice of reason in this little duo replied.

”Yeah but- we need the money!” The nasally man seemed to be talking wildly, throwing his hands all about enough to be seen from behind the bush.

”Who knows how trustworthy those guys are anyway! Even if we somehow managed to get any information on the fugitives, there’s no guarantee that Shiratorizawa would keep their word and actually pay us. They aren’t the good guys, you know!” 

”Yeah but- there isn’t really a choice!” 

One of the men had stepped closer to the bush- Oikawa was afraid that the man might get too close and spot them. 

“Whatever, if we somehow manage to find those guys then well actually talk about this. Who even are the people that they are looking for?” 

”Are you serious- you really wanted to go out there and try and find these guys without even knowing who they are?! I swear you are so dumb.”

”Hey! You can't blame me, the guy was talking too fast for me to really catch anything!”

”Fine- ok, valid excuse I guess, but the messenger said it was a handful of knights, nobles, and court men. They specifically asked for the Court healer alive though, kind of suspicious if you ask me.” Oikawa had to agree with this reasoning, it was pretty suspicious and he was not a fan of it in the slightest.

Oikawa’s heart dropped- So Ushijima really did want something to do with him. And Ushijima wanted him alive. If word got out soon enough to not be able to let him properly edit his appearance enough- he would be screwed. Completely and utterly screwed.

”I wonder what they want with that healer... Like I know he’s supposed to be this all powerful guy and all, but is he really that impressive-“

And they were gone. They just upped and left- And Oikawa should be relieved. He really should be just glad that those guys left- but did people really think of him like that? Well, he’s always known there would be the few outliers who wouldn’t think he was this amazing guy, but it wouldn’t be that many

Oikawa pushed himself off the forest floor, dirt and leaves clinging to the fur on his coat. He peered around the corner, looking for any signs of more travelers. But there was nothing. The light from that duo's barely lit lantern was long gone and there was nothing behind them.

Oikawa emerged from the bushes and stepped onto the road. He brushed off his coat and pulled on the strap of his bag, straightening it out. He was so glad he had gotten the insight to have enhancers increase the amount of pressure his supplies could handle. the inside of his bag would have been a mess with glass and various ailments otherwise.

“Well- I guess that was informative.” Oikawa spoke, a noticeable tremble in his voice.

Iwaizumi silently agreed with the statement.

Oikawa kicked up dirt as the two of them started towards the Village once again. Soon enough, the sounds of bustling people were heard and the lights were bright enough to make out the shapes of individual buildings. 

Oikawa identified it as a quaint village, it was the sort of place to be popular for being a rest stop. It was bright and full of shops and taverns that Oikawa mentally noted to come back to tomorrow. The wooden houses and shops lined the streets, and Oikawa and Iwaizumi fell in with the crowd. They honestly blended in just fine, sure they were a little dirty but weren’t all travelers like that? 

But then again, Oikawa wasn’t that normal looking, and it would be likely for him to draw attention. Not to be a narcissist or anything, but he was dazzlingly beautiful. It would only make sense for someone as beautiful as him to draw the attention of people! Though, it wasn’t quite as ideal as Oikawa has always made it out to be. Instead of being a gift Oikawa was quite certain it was a curse in this case. A tell-tale downfall if you ask him. 

The streets were lined with bustling vendors, selling various colorful items that caught Oikawa's eyes. “So, Iwa-Chan.” Oikawa pushed up next to Iwaizumi, eyes wandering all around the lively environment around him. “Where to?”

”There's an inn at the end of this street, we are going to go sleep there for the night.”

”Ok, how nice is the place anyways? I have been to some inns before and they have been absolutely disgusting and I’d rather not do that again!”

”You don’t really have a choice on whether the inns clean or not,” Grumbled Iwaizumi as he increased his pace. “But this ones nice enough.”

Iwaizumi led them through the crowd of people, cutting through any gaps he could find towards the destination. It dawned on Oikawa that Iwaizumi was trying to lessen their time out in the open, the less people who see them the better. They are wanted fugitives after all.

The weight of those words finally set in. that’s certainly not a thing he would have ever expected to become, it was probably one of the opposite things he wanted.

He was wanted and there’s probably people after him now of all kinds- he’ll really have to be careful of who he can trust. Would he even be able to trust Makki and Mattsun- well of course he would. He had no doubt that those two would never sell him out. And he could also trust Iwaizumi, after all Iwaizumi was wanted too!

The two were approaching a slightly larger building then the ones around it. It was at least two stories tall, possibly had an attic too. It’s windows were bright and Patrons were visible in the building.

Iwaizumi led him to the entrance of the inn, a little ways away from the majority of the rest of the crowd.

Iwaizumi stopped, if he wasn’t staring at the back of Iwaizumi’s head he would have ran right into Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi opened the door and the two headed inside the establishment. Oikawa was hit by the smell of alcohol.

He’s never actually had alcohol before, he never had the time or opportunity to indulge in an activity like that. He’s seen how much people enjoy doing it, the morning after people would regularly go to him for some hangover relief.

He’d give them some herbs for the headaches and then send them on their way. Maybe he’d have the opportunity to try alcohol sometime.

( A/n: i apologize for how unrealistic this next conversation sounds. i am very antisocial and aromantic. i don’t know how to talk to people.)

Oikawa followed Iwaizumi’s heels towards a woman behind the counter. She was reading a book. Iwaizumi stopped in front of the counter and leaned forward towards the woman. “Hello, could we get a room please?”

The woman looks up from her book, visibly annoyed. “Huh?- oh uh, let me check if we have any free rooms.”

The woman looked down from her book onto the counter, there wasn’t much there, just a bunch of paperwork. “Well would ya look at that, no free room. Guess you guys are out of luck.”

”Plea-“

”Don’t worry Iwa-Chan,” Oikawa pushed right past Iwaizumi and gingerly laid his hand on the counter. “ Could we please have a room for two? I'm sure this job takes so much work out of you, but you still look so pretty. i promise we wont be a bother."

”Flirting isn’t going to get you a room, that doesn't work with me.” the woman had said in a harsh manner.

"Damn-" muttered Oikawa.

Flirting was a great way to get what you wanted. Of course, sometimes it didn’t work, but usually he had more time to work it out. It’s worked well for him in the past, he has been able to get himself an entire two rooms before at an inn down south.

It does wonders, well- expect on those who shut it down right from the beginning. a part of him just wants to tell her that he is a part of the court, He had used to play that card if flirting ever seemed off and that worked. ”How much is a room worth anyways?”

”100 silver.” She deadpanned as she shifted her sneering gaze away from the men and down to her book.

That was a little expensive for a room, even for two beds. But like, it's still not expensive enough to complain about. Oikawa leaned in closer to her, lowering his voice to a whisper. ”what if I offer you a gold coin?”

That certainly got a reaction out of her. Her eyes almost looked like they were going to pop out of her head. “You can’t be serious, where did you even get gold?” she spoke with an equally quiet tone of voice.

”Not your business, but I assure you its real gold. And, it's just for one night, how much harm is that going to do?” Oikawa lowered his gaze onto the woman and tilted his chin the slightest bit upwards. 

She was mulling it over in her head. He watched as she bit her fingernail and looked away from his scrutinizing gaze. “I- fine,” She sighed as she dangled the silver key from her fingers. ” Give me the pay and take room 205”

Oikawa pulled out a velvet cloth from his bag, and fished out a gold coin and inconspicuously as he could. He grabbed the key, left the coin with her, and bounded up the stairs.

The tell-tale clink of metal behind him was a given that Iwaizumi was following behind. 

Oikawa passed through a long hall of doors. Oikawa lists off the “Room 200... room 201... room 202... room 203... room 204... room 205!” 

In no time at all, the door swung open and the two went inside. It was a nice room. It was a fair size; it had two small beds next to each other by the wall and the curtains were pulled over the windows. It had nice enough wooden floors and a small table was in the far corner of the room. 

Oikawa most definitely needed to bathe, most places like this section off a portion of a close by river or a communal bath for customers to use.

Or sometimes, if they are lucky, there are hot springs. He let the bag and large fur coat fall from his shoulders and they fell to the floor with a thump. he quickly threw off his cloak, haori, and hakama. who knows where they landed on his floor. 

He collapsed onto the closest bed face first. “Uuuuuugh- finally” he croaked.

He probably wouldn’t be able to bathe today. His feet were killing him, is this what normal people feel like? He hated it! no wonder they complained about walking all the time. He would kill to be able to 

Oikawa has always known that he was an enlightened. Well- he’s known he was different. It wasn’t obvious at first, his mother being a little overprotective when he would play.

Though, she was just worried that he’d get an infection and he’d fall ill. There wouldn’t be much for them to be able to do if he did fall sick. While they were well off, there wasn’t enough resources to really do anything. There was only a single healer in the castle at the time and due to an ongoing conflict with out-laws in the Far East. 

But after a couple nasty scratches closing up fast and a fracture in his arm healing up within a week, it was kind of obvious. 

Oikawa looked up from his spot on the bed, there was a nice breeze going through the room. Iwaizumi stepped around the bed Oikawa had claimed as his own and set down his things onto the other bed. Iwaizumi melted into the bed, just like Oikawa, in his armor and all. “Mph-mhhp-hmm-humph-“ Iwaizumi said into the sheets.

Hell if Oikawa knew what he was saying, though he isn’t sure he’d be able to understand Iwaizumi anyways. Oikawa’s half asleep as he is and he’s pretty sure Iwaizumi isn’t too far behind. “Pardon?” Oikawa looked up from his own spot on the bed to Iwaizumi.

”I said, I'll go grab us dinner and you go take a bath. We'll meet here in 10.”

”Sure- ok, just-“ Oikawa dropped his face right back into the sheets, rubbing his nose against the cozy cloth. He groans in a sleepy contentment. “-gimme a minute.” 

“Yeah.” Oikawa thought he heard Iwaizumi mumble, it was kinda hard to tell since he had just processed that he was probably half asleep.

It was hard to tell. So Iwaizumi is actually considerate. While he’s sure Iwaizumi getting his food really shouldn’t be the thing that makes Oikawa realize this and actually the fact that Iwaizumi is taking him across the country for no other reason then Oikawa’s safety and is not likely going to get anything out of it- its not. It’s Iwaizumi getting Oikawa food while he lets Oikawa bathe. 

It’s weird, it's really not that much. Picking up some food is nothing compared to what Iwaizumi has already done for Oikawa. but it hits home for him. 

Oikawa pushes with all the effort he can muster to get off the bed. He bends down and ruffles through his pack to grab his toiletries, and he’s out the door in no time. With little effort, he’s directed to the back door using the signs by the kitchen to where they have a small hot spring. 

They have an actual hot spring located somewhere in the village, an actual place for travelers to rest at. But if he went to that one that would risk being seen by more people. Keeping his appearances to the minimum will only benefit him.

He has a relaxing soak in a small and private bathhouse. There’s only one other man there, nothing noteworthy about him, but either way Oikawa is sure to keep his hands facing away from the man. Oikawa rinses the dirt and grime off of his body with a few buckets of water, while debating whether it's a good idea to get into the hot springs or not.

Eh, what’s the harm. Who knows when he’ll get the chance to relax again. The Tension building in his shoulders all day washes away as he submerges his body into the large bath. He’s careful not to go past his neck, it would be a pain to try and dry his hair before going to sleep. The steam fills his vision of the place, obscuring a lot of what’s around. 

It’s as relaxing as it could get in here. Ya know, maybe he should tell Iwaizumi to come in here, it’ll certainly get some of that old-man grumpiness out of him. Oikawa chuckles at the stupid thought.

This is the real first time Oikawa has gotten to just sit down and relax today. With Iwaizumi, its just move, move, move. there’s no stopping or resting. And while he’s grateful that that way of thinking got the two of them here at this time, it’s annoying. His limbs hurt, and while they’ll probably feel significantly better tomorrow, he doesn’t appreciate it.

Oh yeah, maybe since his own body feels like it’ll collapse under the pressure of itself, Iwaizumi might feel the same too. He should probably at least offer to find some herbs or heal him a little. 

When it has come to internal wounds, the ones where you can’t directly heal them using the outside of the body, Oikawa has preferred to do it the traditional way.

Herbs and medicine. He hates the idea of his blood being consumed in such a way, even when it is necessary. He does have an extra vial or two he’s saved just in case of an emergency- maybe he’ll try offering some herbs first.

But, herbs are difficult. Maybe the ones he’s brought have been squashed to all hell and aren’t good anymore. And he has no idea what the herbs around here are like. They might only have common plants that could do nothing to help him. 

Ugh this is so hard- why does this have to be so difficult! Wait- it doesn’t have to be- Oikawa is smart. He’s sure to be able to come up with some solution. 

Oikawa’s been sitting in the bath too long, he snatches the towel and ties it around his waist, he gets out of the water relatively quickly before he transitions over to putting on a robe and gloves- oh fuck, his gloves- he couldn’t put those back on!

They were covered in dirt and he had just spent that time getting clean! Ya know what- he’s just making a big deal out of this! He can just stick his hands in his pockets and go up to his room- ah shit. He has to carry his things too. 

Oikawa can’t just have his hands out in the open! It’s suspicious enough that they are covered in scars, but even more so with a bright white crest on both the inside and outside of it!

He pulls his dirty clothes into his chest, and tucks his hands into his arms. Warily, he checks around the area. The areas clear, that guy is still back in the sauna and the chatter of drunks is heard back in the entrance of the building. He makes his exit.

The wooden floor scrapes against the spare wooden sandals he was provided by the inn. He swore his heart was in his mouth as he passed through the back hallways. 

Oikawa scurried passed the open doors and up the wooden stairs, ignoring the loud creaks his movement brought from the oak. He counted the doors as he went down the hall. ‘210...209...208...’ He glanced over the rest before coming to room 205. He couldn’t quite open the door with the way he was clutching onto the clothes in his arms, but he managed to bend down and swing the door open.

He stepped into the dark room and dropped his stuff onto the floor, before sitting down on the bed. Iwaizumi wasn’t back yet, so he probably wasn’t gone too long. It was eerily quiet in the room.

It was late and the crowd outside was thinning out, and there was nobody else in the room with him.

he wasn’t sure he actually liked it. Back in the castle, he was spending a lot of time alone and in quiet, but it just felt wrong now.

His eyes were glued to the door in front of him. In the desolate room, the door presented an ominous feeling.

It gaged over him, mocking his very minuscule existence in this room. 

It seemed like hours that Oikawa stared at it. Everything was drowned out, there was nothing but that door. It loomed over him.

it loomed over his very soul, and he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He was hypnotized by the faintest shadow being seen from underneath it. He paid attention to the shadow, even if his eyes were stuck on the oak.

There was a flicker of movement from the shadow.

it seemed to be growing, going from the ground to the walls- it was moving, someone was there. Someone was there.

They were going to hurt him- The door handle began to move downwards and his entire body stiffened in a matter of milli-seconds. 

His mind told his body to get up- to move and keep the door closed. His body was sewed down to the bed, down to the sheets. His feet were being held down with steel and the blanket clutched his fingers

he couldn’t do anything. A sea of dread washed over him in waves, each hitting his body harder than the last.

This wasn’t right. The door shouldn’t be doing that- And then it opened.

The hinges creaked as the door was pushed open.

And his body deflated as his eyes connected with Iwaizumi's own. His fingers let go of the blanket and the weight left his limbs.

”You good? You aren’t looking too good there, did you stay in the bath too long?”

”Uhm...” Oikawa contemplated, “yeah-uh, i just stayed in for a little too long, I’m fine though. But what did you get us to eat?”

Iwaizumi walked over and dropped the plates of food onto the desk, before turning around to face Oikawa. “ I got some bread, stew, and some vegetables. “

”that sounds pretty good- it's better then nothing.”

“I wish they had some meat, but i guess that’ll wait till we start sleeping outside again- oh yeah, you’re used to having meat too, since they serve that at the castle.”

Oikawa hummed in confirmation as he twisted his ankles against each other. “Yeah, my favorite is probably the steak that they had there, the way they prepared it was just to die for.”

”I never stayed around long enough to actually get around to having the food there.” Iwaizumi commented.

”Huh? What, why?” 

”I went on as many assignments as I could, I rarely stayed in the castle for more than a few days at most.”

Oikawa grimaced at the thought of doing something like that himself. “Yeesh, that sounds so tiring! How’d you even manage to live like that!”

”Eh, it wasn’t too bad. I made things work. I have better endurance than most anyways, since I’m a berserker.” 

”Ehhhh- you’re a berserker? And you didn’t even think to tell me!-“ Oikawa's mouth gapped and slapped his hands onto his cheeks.

”It’s not that important. And I already told you I am an enlightened, I didn’t think I’d have to elaborate on that.” Iwaizumi’s nonchalant voice stated.

“Of course it's important!" Oikawa crossed his arms and pursed his lips. "As your doctor you need to tell me these sorts of things!” 

”You're not my- oh whatever! You’re just being dramatic again!” Iwaizumi scoffed as he pulled a leathered cushion chair towards himself, positioning it before the desk.

Oikawa swore he saw the tug of a smile on Iwaizumi’s lips as the man turned away from Oikawa. “I am not dramatic!”

”Sure, if that’s what you want to believe.” Iwaizumi gave Oikawa an all-knowing look.

The kind that sees through the little bantering entertainment he’s trying to put between them.

Oikawa dragged his own chair next to Iwaizumi’s and plopped down on it with a huff, retaliation on the tip of his tongue. “ come on, Iwa-Chan! No need to be mean!“ Oikawa's voice draws off as he flits his tongue at the engrossing scent of the stew.

He can practically taste the salt on his lips already, and he hasn’t even touched the bowl yet. He snatches his own food up and the steam from the food flows up right into his face, invading his senses. He’s already picked up the fork before the plate even made contact with the surface of the table, and digs in like no-tomorrow.

The potatoes in the stew were bland. Did Oikawa mind? Yeah, he totally did. He hated bland potatoes more than anything. The way they smushed and went down his throat was the worst feeling he has ever had. If he could, he would have most definitely complained about this, demand between food or just something that gave him more energy and nutrients.

But if he really even wants his body to heal his muscles- he needs the energy created from the food first. So he bites back the urge to complain about the food and stomachs the burnt skin of the potato down. It didn’t take long for Oikawa to shove the rest of the food down his face now that the potatoes were gone. 

(A/N: now accepting baked and boiled potato slander in the comments. I hate baked potatoes, Thank you.) 

The food settled in his stomach in seconds. He slumped in his chair, his legs out and his arms crossed over his chest. His head lolled forward and rested on his collarbone. He looked over to Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi’s eyes were fixated on the plate in front of him. His throat steadily bobbed as he swallowed down the food. Oikawa traced the sharp lines of Iwaizumi’s face with his eyes. 

The furrow in his brow is gone, he looks more relaxed. The heavy shoulder-plates are gone by now, letting Iwaizumi’s shoulders relax and let go of the burden. Unlike Oikawa, Iwaizumi ate his food in a timely manner. There was no rush with him

Oikawa’s eyelids seemed like they were weighed down, they were being tugged over his eyes. He felt fuzzy all over, and his body drooped. 

Oikawa huffed as he dragged his hands away from his body and towards the seat of the wooden chair. He pushed off and balanced himself on his feet. “Thanks for the food.” Muttered Oikawa, before he sauntered over to his bed and collapsed on top of the covers.

He rolls over and drags the blanket with him. The blanket wraps around his entire body in a snug hold, the cloth tickles his nose and drags over his mouth as he sinks into the cushioning mattress. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ik this doesnt feel like an angst yet- but trust me,,,,, its labeled slow burn for a reason :)

**Author's Note:**

> i'm looking for a beta reader if anyone's interested- I just wanna make this story as good as i can. If you think you are qualified and can handle it, then please comment and ill hook u up with my email or Instagram so we can chat about the story a bit


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